The Uncommon Occurrences Of Uncommon People
by Keekee101
Summary: Bella's life has reached a stalemate in New York. She decides to start anew on the other side of the country, hoping for everything to fit into place with time. Along the way she meets new people, including a handsome stranger. But nothing is ever that easy, right? AH. Canon Couples. R&R.
1. Chapter 1

**The Uncommon Occurrences Of Uncommon People**

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_"I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well." - Diane Ackerman._

_**Chapter one**_

The shrill ringing of my alarm clock jolted me awake suddenly. I needed a very loud alarm clock to wake my 'deep-sleepy' self, and found that my vintage wind-up clock worked a treat to both wake me up in the morning and give me a spontaneous brain aneurysm along with it.

Losing my non-existent grace for just long enough, I rolled over to switch the alarm clock off. Of course being _me_, I accidently knocked the alarm clock off of my bedside table, which created a moment of insanity for me. _Insanity_ being that my half asleep mind stupidly thought that I had the reflexes to catch it.

Fully awake me couldn't do that. Insert internal eye roll _here_.

_Half asleep_ me decided to reach for the alarm clock, only realizing at the very last minute that my legs were tangled in my way-too-expensive-for-my-pay-check sheets, causing me to tumble to the ever so familiar to me, floor. Now I was awake. I was awake, and my damn alarm clock was _still_ ringing.

Ah, _Friday_.

Normally, this day would bring a sigh of relief for people-and for me too. _TGIF, and all that. _But as of the last few weeks I had honestly felt like I was in constant state of repeat. _I don't even like ground-hog day, or find Bill Murray to be very funny at all. _

I had been quite unsatisfied with my life for the last few _months_ if I was being completely honest.

It pretty much began after I graduated from college, culinary school to be more specific. A pile full of college loans, and high New York rent payments are great motivators to find yourself the first job with a pay check. Which is exactly what I did.

I had studied to be a chef, but had always had a knack for baked goods. They went best with coffee, and I always assumed that it was the line of work I would go down. My love of good food had me move to the other side of the country, and away from my family and friends to pursue that love.

Culinary school had been wonderful, I met many wonderful people and experienced many resplendent endeavours of travel and creativity. I had even spent a semester in France, studying their delectable cuisine and fine wine.

But as I said, money is needed after a while. I hadn't been raised at poverty line, but as the only daughter of a cop and part-time hairdresser, I had never 'rolled in it' so to speak. So there was never any doubt in my mind that asking my parents for help, was not an option. Not to mention, New York was _very_ expensive.

Soon after graduating, I acquired a job at a simple-but-classy restaurant called _'Lostly' _as a sous chef. It was nice; the staff were nice, the boss' were nice, the customers were nice. Everything was _nice. _It was bland. Beige. There was no challenge.

But even though I found it beige, it did help me meet some interesting people in the industry.

Enter Jacob Black.

He was tall, he was sweet, and he adored me. At first only professionally, he owned a restaurant called _'Howl' _only a couple of blocks down from my work and would come in every now to again to test the food and test the competition. Eventually he wanted me to come work for him, offering a dollar fifty more an hour and better hours. In my position, I couldn't resist.

His place was much more urban and modern, with a flare of his Native American background evident in the quiet details. He wasn't a chef himself, he was a business man. _"Everybody's gotta eat, Bells." _He had said, when I asked why he chose to be a restaurant owner.

We grew close, his sharp intellect combined with his horrible cooking skills had us meeting regularly. At first it was friendly, I had offered to teach him to cook. But after a while that friendly banter became flirty banter, the cooking lessons became making love on my tiny kitchenette floor. I remember the first time...

_"So, then you want to put the lemon mousse in the fridge to cool for later, and move on ov-" I stopped mid-sentence, catching his eye. He had been looking at me that way for a while now._

_I swept my hand across my face, suddenly self conscious. "What? Do I flour on my face or something?" My hand went to my hair. I had thrown it in a messy bun after the first glass of wine we had each consumed. Red wine had always made my skin warm and flushed. My favorite winter drink._

_"No." He said, but he kept staring at me. I couldn't look away if I wanted to. Eventually he moved his gaze away and did as I said, putting the mousse into the fridge so that we could move onto the next step._

_A short while later we were close to finishing. I was moving a few utensils to the sink while he was wiping down the bench, and in that moment we bumped into each other. He gave me that look again, but before I could ask him about it, he kissed me. _

_A million things went through my head in that moment. He was my boss. I was 23, he was 33. He had became one of my closest friends in the city. He was my boss. He was my _boss_. He was my BOSS._

_All of these words faded when he started to suck on my collar bone. My sweet spot. I lost myself. I ripped off his shirt and his slid down my dress. We were hot and fun and playful. _

_He said the mousse tasted great on my skin._

_With the dessert forgotten, we drank each other in fully. The kitchen became the couch. The couch became my bed. My bed became the shower. The shower became my bed again. And again. And _again.

We were equally lost in the moment, and he made me forget about my worries of 'the big picture' for a while.

He asked me on an official date the next morning, for the following Saturday. It was fun, and we both made sure that the night ended at his place. Six months later we were living together and happy.

Or I thought I was.

We had only been living together for three months at this point, and I was feeling...Lost. We were so wrapped up in each other for the past few months previous, that I hadn't been able to get any fresh air. I couldn't tell where he ended and I began...And not in the fun way either.

I mislaid my life's direction to fit into his. I'm not going to blame him for that; it was with my own certitude. But the fact remains that I became swept up with _his_ plans and _his_ verve, I was completely at his mercy. He was my boss, and he genuinely wanted me to achieve great things-no question-but it seemed that he wanted me to achieve great things _Within his restaurant. _His restaurant had a very small dessert menu, and virtually no baked goods at all.

Jacob seemed oblivious to all of these thoughts I had come to have, happy to just be with me. But it was _more_ than that. One random night, I was folding towels fresh from the dryer, and it hit me.

I _loved_ him, but I wasn't _in love_ with him.

It was more than my new found desire to expand myself and stretch from his restaurant, I felt like he and I were moving in two opposite directions and it frustrated me that I was the only on that seemed to notice this. I tried to snap myself out of it, or rather _into_ it. into loving him correctly. I was being stupid, Jacob was fantastic. I _should_ be in love with him.

I decided in my own mind that time would give me this. After all, I had never been completely in love before. But time was not on my side.

Jacob _Proposed_.

He had been so sweet all day, I came home to find rose petals everywhere, mixed between a row of candles. I began to cry. Jacob misinterpreted it for happiness.

I won't leave you with the story of how I broke his heart. It's pretty obvious what went down. What was worse than that, was that he was so understanding about it, he tried to convince me to reconsider, but eventually understood that I couldn't be with him if he wanted more of me.

Maybe I have commitment issues.

That could be it. My parents had a lot of issues with their marriage, my mother and her constant desire for a more exuberant life, my father and his need for stability. If I had a dollar for every time my mother threatened to leave my father, I wouldn't of had to bust my butt for extra hours to rid myself of my college loans. At least I'm not one of those kids that blamed themselves with their parents divorce, I knew that they were the cause of their own demise.

Jacob let me have the apartment, and said I could keep my job. But I didn't want to add insult to injury for him. For either of us. So I quit the job as sous chef in his restaurant.

I needed to break free. I need a _clean break_.

So now back to the present. I was lying on the hardwood floor, a tangle of blankets surrounded me. My alarm clock was pressed uncomfortably into my back and my now wide awake brain was scolding myself for my clumsiness.

"I really need to work on that." I muttered to myself. I decided that it was time to get up, well, the sharp pain in my back had decided for me. I rolled myself over and hoisted myself up. I made my bed immediately-a habit I picked up as a kid-switched off my alarm clock and placed it back where it belonged.

As a newly unemployed lady, my day consisted of me waking up an hour later than usual, walking directly to my coffee pot, chugging down the rich, syrup-y deliciousness followed closely by downing whatever fruit I had in the house. I would then dress warmly in my workout gear, take a forty minute run through the city, and grab a bottle of water and a newspaper from the news stand I pass on my way back.

Pulling myself out of my workout gear, I took a long shower before and rubbing on some lotion and slipping into yoga pants and a sweat shirt. I took extra time to treat my long hair and exfoliate my face. I plunked myself ever-so-gracefully onto the sofa. Running my hands through my damp hair, I continue to think through my existential crisis.

One month ago I had a good job with a good salary, a boyfriend that loved me, but I was lost in my own nihilism of life decisions. Now I had no job and my savings were dwindling, a heart broken ex boyfriend, and a sense anarchy with a mixture of freedom swirling in my brain.

I could do what ever I wanted. And that made me anxious.

Puffing out a breath, I practically saw it. Trying to keep my savings as high as possible, I tried not to use too much electricity and gas, which meant only turning on the heat when frost bite was imminent. Realizing just how cold I was, I pulled the throw blanket I keep on the sofa over me.

Once I was bundled up and warm, I reached over to the coffee table for the newspaper. The new routine included me checking the job openings section daily, though most of the time there was never anything for a chef/wannabe baker-pastry chef. Today was no exception.

Huffing, I practically threw the newspaper back onto the coffee table. Existential crisis or not, I needed to find work soon. I had enough savings to last me for a while longer, but it would mean that I would have to op out of thanksgiving at my dad's place-it was his year but if things kept going the way they were, I wouldn't be able to afford the plane ticket. I mean, thanksgiving was months away, but I needed to think of these things now. I barely got to see him now as it was.

_Ring Ring! _Well that definitely broke me out of my slump, I practically fell off of the sofa in shock...Well, it would certainly set the theme for the day. I reached over to the coffee table to my cell phone and checked the _caller I.D_. It immediately made me smile. She always did.

"Alice!" I said, in lieu of a _hello_.

She laughed. "Bella! Bella! I miss you, we haven't spoken in ages."

I shook my head, not that she would have seen it. "We talked like, two days ago."

"That's long enough Bel, We're best friends." It's true, we had been friends since kindergarten. I was the quiet girl in the corner chair, reading a picture book and frowning at the rain. Alice was a couple of tables away from me, coloring. I was in my own little world when I heard a soft sniffling noise. It was Alice. Curious, I waddled over to her and asked her what was wrong, rubbing her back in the process. She looked up at me with her big eyes-too big for her little face. As it turned out, she broke her pink crayon-her favorite-and now the princess' dress that she was coloring in, wouldn't get finished. I gave her mine, and the rest-as they say-is history.

I smiled at the memory. "I know sweetie, it kills me to be so far away." It really did, I wasn't the biggest fan of the weather in Washington, but hey, the coffee was fantastic.

We continued to chat for about a half an hour or so. I really didn't like being in New York any more. Before, I had the school to keep me busy, then I had to establish a career for myself, then-of course-Jacob. But now, as a 25 year old with no job, I didn't see the appeal any more.

I wanted to move.

It struck me hard that-if I were standing-I would have fallen. I wanted to move back to Washington. Alice was right in the middle of talk about fabric colors for her clients new curtains when I had to interrupt her.

"Hang on, I'm having an epiphany." I said, halting her.

"Huh?" She began. "Bel, what do y-"

I cut her off. "Dude. Respect a woman's epiphany." She apologized quickly and let me think. I was too deep in my thoughts to consider apologizing for being rude, but I knew I didn't have to. It was our friendship. Real best friends don't get upset when their best friend tells them to shut up.

I had nothing going for me here any more, I considered moving to Seattle after getting my first job. I was going to save enough and head out there in about a year. But Jacob happened.

Feeling decided I started again. "I think...I think I want to move back to washin-" Now it was her turn to cut me off.

"Yes! Bel, yes _please_. I want my best friend here. I want you to meet Jasper." Jasper was her new beau, Usually she would find a 'fatal flaw' within a month of dating a new guy, but her and Jasper had been together 5 months already. I could tell by the way she talked about him, it was more than just a casual thing now.

We talked for another hour and a half onwards. She all but made me promise to use her spare bedroom, rent free until I found something for myself. She lived in the densely populated Belltown district, it was nice but not really my thing. I had a feeling that I'd be looking in areas like Queen Anne.

Alice and I said our goodbyes and I decided that my overly used mind could use a nap. I laid my head on the plush pillows and took a deep breath.

In the span of two hours and a phone call to my best friend, I had come to the realization that I no longer wanted to live in the place I had called my home for almost six years. Why delay the inevitable? I decided to belay the nap for a bit and start packing. Alice and I discussed timing, and we settled on the end of next week. Today was Friday, and I had nothing else to do.

I pulled out my suit cases and started in on the clothing part. I packed anything I knew I wouldn't be wearing here. Yet another thing hit me at once. The apartment. I couldn't just skip out on it. I mean, I paid the rent only a week ago but I had furniture that wasn't really all mine.

Jacob.

I hadn't even considered him in this.

I mean, I didn't have to any more. But would it hurt his feelings to just jet out without so much as a _'nice knowing you'. _Without thinking, I dropped the coat I was holding and went to my cell phone. I dialled his number before my mind knew what I was doing.

"Pick up, pick up. No don't pick up...Uh crap." My internal monologue had a tendency to come out in these moments.

The ringing stopped. "Hello?" The masculine voice answered.

"Hey Jake, It's me." It was the first time we had spoken in several weeks.

I heard a slight puff of his breath. "Bells, uh. Bella. Hi Hon- uh hi." He always had a way with words.

"Hi." There was a pause. I didn't know where to begin.

"Was there something you needed?"

We talked for a moment. Well, I talked. Jacob was unusually quiet.

"I...Is it because of me?" He asked. I should have known that he would say this.

I sighed. "No Jake, of course not. It's just time."

We continued to chat for a little bit. I offered him the apartment, which he accepted. He had been living with his friend Quil since the breakup.

"You know I love you Bells." He sighed.

I shook my head once. "I know Jake, you know that I wish..." I couldn't finish my sentence, I didn't want to hurt him more.

"I know. Bye Bella, I'll miss you."

I smiled, though sadly. "For the record, I'll miss you too."

We said goodbye again, and ended the call.

I sat back on my bed and took a breath. This breath was different.

It was the first time in a while that I could really feel the air as it went it, the weight was off of my shoulders.

I was on my was to happy, which I never used to consider an accomplishment. It was scary and daunting. But it was exciting.

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**_Hello! I hope you liked it. I had been thinking about this for a while and decided to give it a whirl. I look forward to where this is going. Take care!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I am the lucky owner on a 2012 Toyota car, an apartments worth of furniture, and a 1 year old golden retriever/Labrador puppy called _Mr. Darcy_. But sadly I don't own twilight.**

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_"If you don't take risks, you'll have a wasted soul." - Drew Barrymore._

_**Chapter **__**two**_

"Is that all?" Alice asked as I pulled the last two of my suit cases into her apartment.

Today was Saturday, I hadn't lied when I said I wanted to get to Seattle sooner rather than later. It was exactly a week and a day since I had made the decision and everyone was supportive, for the most part. My New York friends were confused as to the urgency, but understood. My mother was simply grumpy.

She and I had a complicated relationship for as long as I could remember. We by no means hated each other, but I found her flighty, undependable nature frustrating and I know she couldn't understand how I loved cooking enough to warrant it being my career. But she did love that fact that she could say to all her friends in Florida that I was a _'Successful New York chef'_...Having a job is considered a success in this economy, I guess.

My father on the other hand, was overjoyed at the prospect of me moving closer to home. He and I had a simple, relationship based on trust and mutual independence. We didn't need each other for anything, so we were easily able to be friends. He was also the only one that understood my relationship with Renee. He was never a fan of flying, so the only time we ever got to see each other was during the holidays I spent with him in Forks. He even offered to help me move into my new apartment, when I got one, and I really appreciated that.

I puffed out a breath, putting my hands on my hips while I took in the living room. "For now yeah, Jacob and I have the understanding that when I find an apartment, he'll send down my more substantial things...Furniture, and such." I ran my hands down my top, smoothing it out and continued.

"I'll have to buy the rest..." I trailed off, not wanted to think about how much that will cost right now.

Another reason for moving so soon was so that I could keep as much of the savings that I had, and put them towards the travel to get here and everything I would need once I settled down. But I wanted to find a job as soon as possible. I was no mooch, and even though I knew Alice wanted me to take my time to get my head together, I couldn't fathom her taking care of me financially for any length of permanence.

Alice's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Ooh, I can help you with that!" Alice was a newly graduated Interior designer.

Alice knew for as long as I'd known her that she was going to get into some form of fashion, though originally she thought it was going to be clothing. She initially chose fashion school in Seattle, wanting to Major in runway couture, but with all the many classes available, her mind began to drift elsewhere. Alice had changed her majors several times before finding her niche in Interior decorating and I was very Proud that she stuck with it, and came out of it with a real passion.

I made a slight face, "Uh Alice, you know I'd love that. But I'd never be able to afford you tastes." She swatted her hand dismissively.

"I'm a new designer who needs work to built her portfolio, it would help me as much as it would help you Bella-boop." She smiled as she said the nickname given to me when were were seven. I smiled too, I had really missed her.

She gestured toward the hallway, I nodded and picked up my bags. She picked up one too and I followed her to my new bedroom.

Alice was really good at her job. The guest bedroom was a lovely off-white/ivory color, with beige carpeting. The furniture was white and classically styled. There was minimal color, but it felt warm and welcoming. It was just what I needed right now.

I dropped my bags, turned to my best friend and grabbed her into a whopping hug. She dropped the suitcase she was rolling in and hugged back. "Okay...Oxygen. Become an...Issue. _Help_." I released her.

"Sorry." I said, with a smile.

She returned the smile and rubbed my right arm. "You know, when you want to talk, I'm here right?"

"I know." I added quietly. I knew she would get me to talk about everything eventually, but I wasn't ready yet.

Thankfully, she didn't push. "I'm gonna go order something for dinner while you unpack and relax. Malaysian okay?"

"Yeah sounds good." With that she left.

I loved our friendship. We could be completely crazy together, or we could be completely silent together. We were more like sisters. Growing up as an only child with a father that worked a lot and a mother than had too many hobbies to spend too much time with me, I had always been more or less alone. For the most part I enjoyed my solitude, but it would have been nice to have had someone to understand it all, rather than just empathize.

Alice and I bonded over having mutual unusual childhoods. Her family were Mormon and had very specific views of the world. They believed woman should dress modestly and hold being a wife and a mother as the biggest of priorities. Alice had an older sister Cynthia, she was the complete incarnation of everything their parents wanted. Cynthia never went to college or dreamed of any future the didn't include marrying as soon as she could and producing grandchildren for her parents. Alice herself was never like that, and she, in her own mind never considered herself to be that religious.

Alice was never aloud to cut her hair short-something she had always wanted. She wasn't aloud to wear outrageous fashions-Something that showed off her quirky personality. Alice wasn't even aloud to date all of high school-She _all_ but made up for that now.

I was surprised that I was even aloud to be her friend, they knew how my mother acted. But I guess they figured that as the daughter of a cop, I couldn't be too bad.

I have no idea how Alice convinced them to pay for her education in college, but I do know that they are barely on speaking terms throughout the year. Alice is however, obligated to visit them every religious holiday.

Shaking the thoughts from my overly used head, I decided to begin unpacking. First, I placed my bras and panties into the top drawer of the lovely white dresser, located on the west side of the room, then followed on by folding some clothes into the other drawers. I also hung the more substantial items in the decent sized built-in closet. I softly placed my jewelry into the beautiful antique metal jewelry boxes, Alice had sat on the vanity desk by the window.

Taking a deep breath for a moment, I realized how sore my shoulders and lower back felt. Actually my entire body felt like a piece of drift wood, left out in the cold wind. Deciding I needed a bath, or at the very least a hot shower, I settled on unpacking the rest of my things after dinner. I grabbed my two toiletry bags and headed to the bathroom.

When visiting Charlie for the holidays, I would always spend a night or two here with Alice. Our 'best friend bonding time' she would call it. It helped now that I was staying here, I already knew where everything was.

Passing the living room, Alice noticed the bags in my hands. "Hey, dinner is on it's way." She smiled, putting the fashion magazine she was reading to the side of the couch.

"Awesome, I'm gonna hop in the shower. Just grab my wallet when they come and take what yo-"

She cut me off. "No Bel, this one is on me."

She must have seen the protest in my eyes, because before I could even open my mouth she started again. "Dude, no. No. It's my treat tonight."

"I just don't want to mooch off of you, I am neither Paris Hilton, nor the youngest brother on the show we hate...What's it called?" She shrugged to answer my question, and I shook my head at her. "You know what I mean."

"I do, but come on. It's just dinner." She used those doe eyes on me, for the millionth time. And for the millionth time, it worked.

I sighed, feeling overpowered. "Okay, just this once." She raised her hands in the air, in triumph. I also raised my hands...well, one particular finger on either hand. She poked her tongue out at me as I laughed my way into the bathroom.

I had always enjoyed unwinding after a long day by taking a nice, hot shower. It is my time to think, really think. People have their most philosophical thoughts while in the shower.

I cleansed my face, shampooed and conditioned my hair, scrubbed my body clean with a loofah and my strawberry scented body wash. After washing the conditioner out of my hair, I thought it would be best to get out now, before I became a prune. The take out would be here by now and I didn't want it to get cold.

I patted myself dry, applied Lotion diligently, put on a little deodorant and then wrapped myself in a towel. I quickly placed my products on the shelf Alice gave me-conceding that I would organized it later-and headed out.

Strolling into the living room in a towel, I noticed Alice at the door with the delivery boy. He was nothing special, just your typical teenage boy with skin problems. He spotted me immediately and his jaw hit the floor.

Alice noticed. I saw the fiery glint in her eye and I just _knew_ she wanted to play with the poor boy.

We exchanged a look and I smiled, saying okay with my eyes. She started. "Hey baby, you better be outta that towel when I come back into the bedroom." Alice said, in her _'sultry'_ voice. I decided to play along, what could it hurt? I ran my hands through my damp hair, tilting my head to the side coquettishly.

"Mmm, you better hurry up then. I may need to get _imaginative_ if you don't hurry..." I ran my tongue along my teeth, giving the delivery boy a wink. I wasn't a little girl any more, I knew how to make a man melt.

I made sure to saunter back to my room with an added swing to my hips. Laughing to myself as I grabbed the sweatpants and long sleeve top I left on my new bed, I put them on in a haste. Smelling the Malaysian made me realize that I hadn't eaten since I was still in New York, before the flight.

I heard Alice giggling and took that as my cue to re-enter the living room. As I walked back, Alice was in the kitchenette reaching for plates in the cabinet. I chose not to make note of the fact that she kept a stool in there to reach all the cabinets, I'd like to keep my thumbs thank-you.

She heard my approach and turned to me. "That was fun, I missed that." She said, her voice filled with whimsy.

"Me too, I think the last time we pranked someone together was senior year of high school." I smiled at the memory.

She giggled again, placing the plates onto the coffee table. "Oh yeah."

"Mr. Banner." We said in unison, laughing at the memory.

It was the last week of school for us seniors. Mr. Banner, our Biology teacher was on our backs even though exams were finished. Most people just dealt with it, grumbling to themselves. But Alice and I decided to take a stand, what could they do, expel us?We were already technically graduated, it was just not _official_ yet. Long story short, he had a really obvious toupee. Donald trump's looks like a hair care advertisement in comparison.

Alice and I climbed to the top of the roof during lunch, it was a nice day outside so he was monitoring everyone. we came prepared with fishing wire-courtesy of my dad-including but not limited to a hook in the end of it. Alice was the steadiest with her hands so she sank the wire down and hooked it to the toupee. When two kids got into a fight and he went off to scold them, his toupee was left swinging in the air...We never did end up getting caught.

We laughed and caught up over _keow teow_ and _curried laksa_. Alice had been working in Magnolia for the past few weeks, there was a snobby bleach blonde named Tanya who had just gotten married. She just _had_ to re-do her new husband Marcus' entire house, she wanted nothing to remind her of the wife he had left for her.

I made her let me do the dishes-or rather put them in the dishwasher-to make up for her treating me to dinner. We parted ways while she showered and I went to my room to finish unpacking.

The next morning I got up early, washed my face, went for a run and bought a newspaper. I also went to the local corner grocers and picked up a couple of ingredients for breakfast. Alice isn't much of a cook, and I had a feeling that me being there may save her some money on take out.

Once I got back into the warm apartment, I brewed some coffee, made croissants and fried some bacon. While I was dipping bread into the egg and mixed herb concoction I created, Alice came into the kitchen, sniffing her little nose in the air.

"Coffee." Was all Alice said. Another thing she and I bonded over was the mutual need to have a certain amount of caffeine in our bodies, or our veins would dry up. Some people had white blood cells and red blood cells, we had white blood cells, red blood cells and coffee bean cells.

I smiled and handed her an empty mug. "Hot and ready for the taking."

"Didn't that used to be your catchphrase in college?" She raised her thin but well groomed eyebrows at me, jokingly.

I huffed a laugh. "One of many." I joked back, flippantly.

I finished cooking breakfast and dished it out for the two of us. We ate in comfortable silence, with an occasional moan from Alice.

"O.M.G Bel, this is so good. You _need_ to open your own place." She added to her compliment by licking the plate.

I turned my head to the side, in confusion. "Did you just say _O.M.G_?" I shook my head with mock sadness.

Her head tilted up a little, a light pink color covering her cheeks. "I can neither confirm nor deny that." She said, dismissively.

Alice had to go to work soon after this, so I decided to clean a little. I wanted to make my stay here non-annoying and I wanted to be helpful. I organized my shelf in the bathroom like I wanted to, went to the apartment laundry-mat and did a load of towels, and baked a vanilla pannettone with custard cream for dessert tonight.

I plunked down on the plush sofa at about 2:30, choosing not to delay the inevitable. I wanted to check the Job listings for work.

_Computer programmer. Construction worker. Personal assistant. Yoga instructor. Letter Opener._

_Letter opener? _Is that even a real job?

It was no surprise to me that there were no jobs for chefs and/or bakers in the newspaper. But it still made me a little frustrated, the last thing I wanted was to not be able to support myself. I was way too interdependent to be unemployed. It's like oil and water. Un-mix-y things.

I spent the next half an hour actually reading the newspaper. It had your typical city-type stories, a death here, a council change there. Nothing unusual.

My eyes did wander after a while, staring at the paper but not really reading it. That is until my eyes fixed on one post.

_Store space for sale, previously a hair salon, changeable into any choice of store. For inquiries, call 556-412-359. Ask for Shelly Cope._

I couldn't. I just couldn't.

Could I?

It made sense, to a point. I wanted to be able to cook what I wanted. I wanted to bake.

I could open a coffee shop/eat-in bakery. No I'm silly, I wouldn't know where to begin. I'm not ready for that.

_'O.M.G Bel, this is so good. You _need_ to open your own place.' _Stupid little pixie, invading my mind and tempting me.

I needed to talk to someone. I needed my dad.

All but yanking my cell phone out of my purse, I dialled my fathers work number. After a few rings someone answered. "Forks Police department, Lauren speaking." _Lauren? As in Lauren Mallory? The bitch that cut a chunk out of Alice's hair in fifth grade and made her grounded for a week and thus, unable to attend my 11th birthday? _

I had a good memory, and the nasal voice on the other end of the phone was a good identification of her.

I started. "Yes, I'd like to speak to Chief Swan, this is his daughter Bella."

"Oh. Bella. I'll send you through." The on-hold music started playing. Oh yeah, that was Lauren all right. She had hated me since Tyler Crowley asked me to the spring fling dance instead of her, in junior high.

My dad's voice broke me out of my reverie. "Bells?" His deep voice appeared, and I instantly smiled.

"Hey dad." We chatted for a bit about my flight and overall safe travel here. But I was sure that he could tell that I needed to talk about something else.

I heard him sigh. "Bella, what is it? Is everything alright?"

He was always a big worrier, always had been. "Yeah, I'm good. I just needed to discuss something with someone before my head exploded. And let me tell you, Monty python would be jealous of that pleasant display my dear sir, I may even have to sell the rights to them."

I had the tendency to ramble when I was nervous.

He caught it.

"Bella don't lie to me, what's wrong?" See? Worry wart king. _I may have to send him a crown..._

I shook my head. "Nothing, I just...I'm thinking of buying a space. Or rather I'm considering, thinking about buying a space. I mean, I don't know the first thing about business, and I'd need a loan bigger than poppin' fresh's belly. Who am I kidding it's a sill-" He cut me off.

"Bells..." He took in a deep breath. "Go for it."

I tilted my head to the side, confused. "What?"

"Buy a place. I'm assuming you want a restaurant or something?"

I didn't know what to say. "Bakery." I was only able to correct him.

He and I talked for a bit longer, but mostly my mind was trying to wrap my head around the idea of this actually being a possibility.

"Bella, you are the most talented young woman I've ever known. and you're _smart_. You can do this. If _you_ can't take it, none of us can."

I smiled, my eyes watering. Charlie and I never really expressed our feelings to each other very much, so it warmed my heart when he said those things.

"Thanks dad. And thank-you for dealing with my crazy."

He paused for a moment. I could just imagine him running his hand through his hair; A habit I picked up from him. "Any time Bella, You're my baby girl."

We said our goodbyes and well wishes.

Did that really just happen? Am I buying a restaurant? Or, thinking about it at least...

Holy mother of small intestines Batman, I think I _am_ thinking about it.

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_**Howdy! Hope you liked it, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Have a nice day. **_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own twilight.**

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_"Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend" - Albert Camus._

**_Chapter three_**

"Bella, we need to be there in half an hour. Come on." Alice said, through the door of my bedroom.

Alice was so excited when I told her of my idea to open a coffee shop, she very clearly had an idea in mind for how it should look. Her boyfriend Jasper was also surprisingly supportive, given that we had only met about an hour previous to that.

_"Bella, I'm home!_ _And I picked a stranger up off the streets, that's okay right?" She said, walking into the living room. One hand holding her purse, the other clutching the arm of a tall, blond dude. From Alice's description of her boyfriend, I knew that this was him. _

_I batted my hand dismissively from my position on the arm chair. "No, no. Of course not. I've always wanted a butler, can we train him?" I looked over to the man-Jasper-and smiled. "You sir, But-ell me." _

_He and Alice laughed lightly, he spoke up first. "Sorry ma'am, I charge by the hour. Is that alright?" Wow, Alice wasn't wrong about his southern accent being sexy. Yowza. _

_"That's perfect...If I leave the money on Alice's night stand, would that make you feel like a gigolo?" We all joked back and forth for several minutes after that. _

_I really liked Jasper, though he was really different from the men Alice usually dated. Which might have actually been a good thing. _

_His hair was a little longer than average, about to his ears and a little shaggier than I imagined a Lawyer would have. But it only added to his even-tempered nature. He wore a pant suit and a clean dress shirt and tie, but I noticed the round collar of a band t-shirt when he took off his tie before dinner. I had a feeling he and I would be good friends, he had an easy air about him. He made you feel comfortable in a room, and I got the impression that awkwardness avoided him like the plague._

_"Well, dinner is in the oven. I am making Vegetable lasagne, are you guys okay with that?" I made sure to add Jasper to the equation, to make it known that I was comfortable around him._

_They both nodded. "Anything you make is wonderful Bel. Jaz you'll love her cooking, she should get her own T.V show or open a restaurant or something."_

_Or something. Little did she know, those thoughts had been rattling around in my grapefruit all day. I wanted to chat to Alice about the idea, but didn't know how to approach the topic._

_For the rest of the evening, I kept looking for my window. We enjoyed the Vegetable lasagne and vanilla pannettone with custard cream I had baked earlier in the day. Alice complained more about Tanya and her horrid taste, while Jasper and I listened on, making comments and nodding at the right moments. _

_Jasper was a recent graduate of law school, he found work at a nice family law firm, working as an assisting party to the associate lawyers. He hoped to become an associate himself by the end of the year, but he was happy where he was all the same._

_Jasper asked me of my plans for work and I took that as my cue. "Well...I was looking for work. But I saw this thing in the newspaper today." There Bella, you did it. Be proud._

_"Thing?" Alice queried._

_I nodded. "A place. Or store rather." I was nervous. I continued. "See, I was thinking...It's a stupid idea really, I don't know what I'm thinking-But I thought that I might consid-" _

_Once again, I wanted to thank the little cherub angels for letting Alice exist and be created as an interrupter. "You're gonna open your own place!"_

_I shook my head, Alice was easily excitable. "Well, I'm considering it. But I don't know the first thing about business, I wouldn't know where to go to get a loan..." I'm stupid, I shouldn't have brought it up._

_"I can help you with that if you want." Jasper offered. _

_I didn't know what to say. "Ah, Jasper. You don't have to do that..."_

_He smiled. "It's no trouble, I'd like to help."_

_"Thanks, that would help me a lot." I paused for a moment. "I don't even know if I can do this, that place could be swept up in a second."_

_Alice put her tiny hand over my own. "Bella, you are incredible at what you do. Come on, you can do this. Even if you don't get the space in the newspaper, there are plenty of other places you could buy."_

_I was so happy to be here. I didn't realized until now just how much I really did miss my best friend. I was glad to be back with such supporting people._

Which is what brings us to now. I was currently standing in front of the tall mirror on the closet door, running my hands down the pencil skirt I was wearing, trying to smooth the none existent lines.

Alice says the key to confidence is always starting with an awesome outfit. But even in my royal red satin-y blouse, black high waisted pencil skirt that was snug at my curves and patent leather pumps I borrowed from Alice-Side note, for such a small little thing, she has larger feet than she should-I felt like I might throw up my breakfast.

"I'm coming."

Alice was sweet enough to come with me today, acting as my support net for the meeting with the owners. I appreciated the help from her, but I didn't want her to feel like I needed her too much.

I hated being that girl. The one that is filled with self doubt and being uncertain of what I wanted, or rather what I thought I could have.

The meeting went smoothly enough. The previous owner Mrs. Cope was incredibly sweet, and all but assured me that is was mine. Alice's sweet talking helped greatly, which I thanked her for.

A weight was lifted off of me in the next coming weeks. Mrs. Cope and I had reached an agreement and I signed the dotted line. With the help of Jasper, I found a good place to get a loan with low interest and decent annual payments along with all the legal works that came with opening a business.

I made it up to him, by cooking his favorite meal-Ribs in my own herb spice sauce. We were both thankful to each other.

The hard part for me was setting my menu. It was completely up to me to decide and I had no idea. I mean, there were items that I would for sure put on the menu, everyone had their requests. But I didn't realize how hard it was to put up an entire menu.

Several weeks past on again, things began to feel a little lighter and the weight on my shoulders was getting lesser. I made a promise to myself to not complain about the hard parts.

_You are not that girl. The girl that grumbles and whines about her misfortune, that was my mother. I will not follow her example. Things are getting better and I am making them happen. I will be proud._

But this was all irrelevant, everything was actually going very well. Alice was designing the look of it for me, My menu was coming together, I had a couple of people coming in for staff interviews...But I still couldn't come up with a name.

I didn't want anything overused or expected or overly cutesy. I wanted something to define what I was about, who I was as a person. Simple, witty, straight forward.

I had come up with nothing thus far.

Alice and I had a conversation about it one evening while we were painting the walls of the main area.

_"What about Bakers dozen?" She said, rolling the paint up he wall._

_I shook my head. "Over-used."_

_"The bakehouse?"_

_I looked at her disapprovingly "Completely unoriginal."_

_She groaned. "All the good names are taken. You need a unique name to represent you unique personality."_

_My eyes narrowed. "Thanks for politely calling me weird."_

_She laughed. "If you're weird, than I'm psychotic."_

_I laughed with her. "You are regardless, my dear." To which she responded by sticking her tongue out at me and flicked the roller in my direction.  
_

_~/~/~/~_

Today was some of the interviews for my new employees. Just thinking about it made me freak out, thinking about how far all of this had come already. I had already been in Seattle two months.

The first was a young girl named Angela. She was a part time senior in college, and had to support her self financially.

She looked lovely when she came in, right on time at 9:00 am. She was wearing a simple black dress with short sleeves and flared slightly at the waist. Her hair was up in a bun and she wore glasses.

"Hi, I'm Bella." I offered my hand to shake.

She smiled and took my offered hand, shaking it firmly. "Hello, I'm Angela Webber. Angela, please. I mean, if you want. I don't know if you want to call me my name or Miss Webber or...I'm sorry."

I laughed lightly. It was nice to know I wasn't the only rambler when nervous.

I started again. "It's fine. Angela is fine. Come on lets sit, would you like some coffee?"

"Oh, I'm pretty wound up right now, maybe not the best idea at the moment..."

I nodded. "Water?" She looked a little green in her anxiety, and I wanted her to be okay. I wanted her to not faint on my watch.

"Okay, thank-you" I got us both a glass and sat down next to her.

She had a hard time finding work lately, she had to work full time to support herself and her family. Her father wasn't around and her mother worked at minimum wage, they had to look after her twin brothers together.

I admired that she stepped up to the plate, and she seemed to be comfortable around me.

The interview went well and we parted ways nicely. "It was nice meeting you." She said, nervousness fixed in her voice.

"You too, I'll give you a call in the next day or so, okay? It's easy to say that you got the job."

She smile and we shook hands. The rest of the interviews went pretty well too. I ending up deciding on Angela and a girl name Jessica to be waitress' and Barista's, and a young man named Seth to cook with me. He was a nice kid, a little dopey maybe, but determined.

The Bakery was expected in open in two weeks, and I _still_ hadn't found a name yet. It was driving me mad. I needed to settle on something soon, or I'd have to put off the opening for longer. Which I couldn't do. I had new employees, I needed to start getting regular money and find an apartment soon. Alice was happy to have me, but I felt like it was time to move on. With a new career I needed new home.

~/~/~/~

The sun was setting on a rainy Thursday evening. I was packing up things for the day, ready to feel the hot water of the shower on my back, and the softness of my pillow beneath my face.

I was just switching off the electrical appliances when I heard the door bell ring as it opened. Freaked out at first, I grabbed the closest thing to me.

A spatula. _Great job Bella, way to protect yourself._

My inner monologue went just long enough to allow the person behind me to speak. "Are you the owner?"

A female voice. I turned swiftly. The girl was beautiful. Blond and at least 5 ft 8. She was a little more fuller figured than most of the woman I know, but it didn't make her any less pretty. She was like a Blond Christina Hendricks. Sometimes the world just wasn't fair.

I nodded at her vague question. "Yes I am, and you are?"

"Rosalie Cullen." She smiled. "I read in the job listing section of the newspaper, that you're looking for employees..." She trailed off.

I was a little confused. "Yeah, I did..."

She started again, taking a step forward. "I know this is probably too late, and I'm doing this completely wrong...I just had no other time today to apply." She gestured to a manila type folder in her hand, and then passed it to me.

"I have a son, he got sick at preschool and my husband was arms deep in a car-oh, he's a mechanic-I was going around town giving out my resume, and had to drop it to pick up little Nate...Now I'm saying this to a perspective boss, at-" She checked her watch "-7:47 at night, and I realize I sound crazy but I need a job."

Her eyes were sad, something told me that she was going through a rough patch right now. I smiled at her. "Would you like to sit down for a bit? Have a drink? I've already turned off the coffee machines, but I can make some tea...?"

She sighed, her eyes closing. "I would love that, thank-you." I gestured toward one of the tables and headed around the glass counter-that was only installed yesterday.

"Okay. We have green, camomile, peppermint, jasmine, and an assortment of herbal teas." I left the statement open, as a question.

She thought for a second. "Um, I think camomile would be best for this time of the night."

I made us both some tea, and then I sat down next to her. I handed her-Rosalie-the drink and we sat in silence for a few moments. I decided to start. "So you need a job?"

"Yes." She said, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear. "Can I be honest with you?" I just nodded. "My family has been going through a bit of a rough patch right now. When my husband and I had our son, I stopped working. The garage he owns was going great and he was making enough money to support us perfectly."

She took a shaky breath in, and continued. "But over the last couple of months work has been going down, he lost two employees...We're both too proud to go to our parents-even though they'd be more than willing to help, and Emmett couldn't bare taking money from his brother when he offered..."

I noticed water beginning to peak out of her eyes. I quickly took her hand that was on the table, rubbing it lightly in a soothing manner. It didn't matter that fifteen minutes ago, we were complete strangers. She was sad and needed comforting.

Rosalie looked at me again. "I don't have a lot of experience in this field, just some waitress-ing in a bar during college. But I need work, I need to help my family with car payments and our mortgage and...Hospital bills and new baby stuff."

I looked up at her. Rosalie simply nodded. "I'm only a month and a half along. God, I haven't even been able to tell my husband yet. It would put even more stress on him..."

This was a person in need. I could see it in her eyes that she would work hard, she would treat this place well because she really needed this. Rosalie was letting me in on something so personal, I felt it only right to help her out a little. Plus I didn't want her to find a job that would make her be on her feet all day, no rests.

I smiled sadly. "Can you bake?"

She shook her head. "I could burn water." She was honest at least, and strangely it added to my approval of her. It wasn't a complete bad thing, I could teach her a little, like I planned to teach the new staff anyway.

"Do you like coffee?" I asked.

She puffed out a laugh. "Only with my _oxygen._ But I'm decaf bound presently." She put her free hand over her bump-less tummy.

I had made my decision. I didn't really like the Jessica girl I was going to hire anyway. "Okay, you got the job."

"Really? But you didn't even look at my resume...?" Her eyes were wide.

I just shrugged. "Look, I myself am going though something right now. Not nearly as complex as you are. But I had people help me, even when I felt too proud to ask. I believe they call it _paying it forward_."

"Thank-you." She sprung out of her seat and engulfed me in a big hug. "You don't know what this means to me."

We talked for about ten minutes onwards. But she had to get back to her family and my shower was calling me in a very _come hither _type voice.

"Quick question." I started. "You said you went to college, what did you study?"

She smiled, putting on her coat. "Mechanical engineering, it's how my husband and I met actually. I would have been working with him, but I just know he wouldn't want me around all of that with a bun in the oven. He didn't the first time."

_Bun in the oven._

"That's it!" I yelled, scaring the crap out of Rosalie.

She looked at me, puzzled. "What's _it_?"

I huffed a laugh to myself. "_Bun in the oven._ I have been trying to find the perfect name for this place since I bought the space. Thank-you."

I gave her my cell number, we said our goodbyes and I locked up. I got the feeling she and I would be very good friends.

Now onward to home, _shower I'm coming_.

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_**Guess who Bella is meeting in the next chapter? ;) Hope you enjoyed. Be sure to follow this story, I tend to update regularly. Take care.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**I'll admit, this chapter was a difficult one. I had all the ideas in my head, but making them flow was a task. But I think I got it. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!**_

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_"There'll always be serendipity involved in discovery." - Jeff Bezos._

**Chapter four**

The first day of _Bun in the oven _being open was incredible. I got there at 5:00am to begin baking, Seth met me there.

We made four different kinds of bread (Wholegrain, White, Sesame seed coated and Rye), Croissants, Five different types of cake (Chocolate mud, Red velvet cupcakes, Strawberry mousse cake, Banana and peanut butter pound cake and Vanilla coffee cake), Muffins (Blueberry, Gluten free Orange and poppy seed and Chocolate chip.), Quiche, and several other different 'bakery type' foods.

We also prepared for breakfast. I wasn't sure of the amount of people that would show up, but this was central Seattle and I already had several work coffee/Muffin orders-One of which was Jasper, as it turned he only worked three blocks away from the bakery.

By 6:45am Rosalie and Angela showed up. I decided against a uniform, choosing to have my employees wear black dress pants/a black skirt, a white shirt or blouse with no writing or pictures on it and black shoes. I also had aprons made up with the company name and logo on it, the aprons themselves were a soft green that sat flatteringly at the waist. I myself-as owner and boss-wore black and/or white also, but it wasn't necessary for me to do the whole get up.

We set up for opening and prepared the machines and the cold food ingredients. I had also given them all a training session on the previous Saturday, showing them how to prepare and present the items on the menu. As well as teaching them how to use the machines and cash register, and how to make the speciality drinks.

_I had just made a tomato soup that would be on the menu with Seth, it had a beautiful mix of cream, roasted garlic and herbs such as basil and oregano. Angela and Rosalie were now being taught how to make pita bread wraps for the lunch menu._

_"Okay, so first you spread the greek yogurt onto the bread, it gives a nice base; without the un-healthiness of butter. Then add beef, the spinach and the feta cheese slices-They're thin and can break easily, but don't worry about it." _

_I demonstrated the amount of each item, before continuing. "Then all you need to do is add the basil and roll them up like this." Once again, I showed them._

_"And now you have a greek inspired wrap. All of these cold meals will be made-to-order, but we'll also have several pre-prepared items for emergencies and for lunch for us." I smiled at them. I had made the decision to give them one free meal a day, it was their choice but they had all stated that it would most likely be lunch most times. _

_Angela had been taking notes all day, where as Rosalie chose to learn by trying it physically herself. _

_She didn't trust herself to do any of the cooking or baking, so she wanted to make up for it by being good at preparation and by putting her coffee making abilities to good use. I admired her diligence._

I was really happy with the people I had hired. We were all getting along really well and they were very willing to get in early and help out where ever possible. I lucked out for sure.

Seth was a goof-ball, he was 20 years old and did a class at the local community college in cooking. A funny Coincidence was that he grew up in La push, the tiny town just past Forks. He loved to make us laugh and enjoyed the fact that he toward over us. Seth didn't even seem to care that he was the only guy working here.

Angela was pure light. There was not a bad bone in that girls body, she was the kind of person that you could happily sit with in silence.

Rosalie had told Emmett about the pregnancy. He was confused as to her getting a job so soon and she accidently blurted it out in the middle of an argument the night I hired her. He was-understandably-stressed, but still overjoyed non-the-less. Rosalie and I had grown very close in the few days we had known each other.

Poor Alice felt a little jealous at this, but I told her _"No one could ever replace my favorite little squirt."_ She seemed please by this, but decided that she wanted to be friends with Rosalie too. She said she had a _strong feeling_ about us all being close.

Alice had always had these _strong feelings_, we used to joke all the time about here being psychic. All I'm saying is that, if she tells you to bring an umbrella on a day that the weather man promises to be sunny; Do it.

Jasper came in at 8:15. He sure was punctual, that boy.

We waved to each other as he came in. "Hey Bel. This place looks awesome."

It really did. Alice was truly a visionary. She took my love of French inspired architecture, and combined it with simple pastel colors. Mixing stainless steel and clear glass to the mix. It was the perfect combination of vintage-without being stuffy-and modern clean cut-ness. I especially loved the menus; Alice had them made up to look almost like newspapers, but larger plaques on the wall, and leather bound table menus.

I adored it.

"Your girlfriend is a gem." I smiled at him.

He return the smile, a light color reaching his cheeks. He absolutely adored her. "That she is."

Jasper ordered a simple Tall, double shot espresso, and a Blueberry muffin to-go. We said our goodbyes rather quickly as there was someone in line behind him and he needed to get to work.

The day was easy going, and there was more business than I thought that there would be. Thankfully we had prepared for all of this, just in case.

By 6.00pm, we were happy to crash. "That went well." Seth said, drying a plate before passing it to Angela to put it away.

We had just put the _closed_ sign up, and were now cleaning for tomorrow. We all nodded and agreed with his sentiment.

I drove home to Alice's, two _salmon and avocado salads_ in to-go styrofoam packages were sitting on the passenger seat of my new car. Yes I crumbled, this city is a driving one and I needed a car. I couldn't risk being late to work when I was the owner.

Unlocking the door and walking into the apartment, I noticed Alice on her laptop in the living room.

"Lucy, I'm home!" Giving her my best _Ricky Ricardo_ impression.

I gestured to our dinner, and Alice all but slammed her laptop closed. "Dinner!" She exclaimed exuberantly. "Oh, you bring home the bacon, _and_ fry it up in the pan."

I laughed. "Well, I know you _always_ dreamed of being a kept woman."

Munching our salads happily, we talked animatedly about our days. She let me take the floor for the most part, but was really happy when I mentioned Jasper. They often met each other for lunch and she looked forward visiting me in the future.

~/~/~/~

Weeks passed. I had built an incredible rapport with my staff, we had all grown to be good friends. Alice came by with Jasper several times for lunch, and she and Rosalie hit it off-Just like she said they would. _That's it, I'm asking her for the winning lottery numbers._

Angela had gotten increasingly more confident as time went on, her confidence was building and her home life getting better now that more money was coming in.

I had also noticed a regular named Ben and her being friendly, she would always hide in the kitchen for a moment after he left, blushing and cursing herself for saying the wrong thing. Breaking the confidence she had gained in a second. At first she denied liking him, but after a while she couldn't hide it any more.

"Here you go Ben, have a good day." I smile at him after the transaction and he left, waving politely and pushing his glasses back up his nose. He was cute I suppose, in a subtle and slightly geeky way. Not my thing, but I could see what Angela saw.

Angela stood next to me, watching him leave. Once he was gone, she huffed and pouted. "Bella. Why must you be you?"

Huh? "Huh?" I had the tendency to say what my mind was thinking when confused. Thankfully she spoke in more hushed tones, even though there wasn't many people in the store presently.

"You. With your long, thick hair and your deep-set doe eyes with long lashes and your pouty lips and radiant smile. Ben was hypnotized." She said it in an exaggerated way, but I could tell she was blue.

I shook my head at her, equally as or even more confused than before. "What? Honey, I didn't serve him. You did. All I did was make the transaction." She didn't see the way he was looking at her apparently.

I gestured for her to follow me, into my small office. "Okay you, _sit_." It was less of a request and more of an order.

"Honey, what was that about?"

She sighed. "It's just...It's hard. You and Rose are two of the most beautiful women I've ever met."

"Angela." She was crazy. "You didn't see how Ben was looking at you. Furthermore you need to get some confidence around men."

"You don't understand, it's not just Ben. It's all guys that come in here. How many men have asked for me_ specifically_ to serve them?" She asked sadly.

"Bella, how many have looked past _you_ to get a better look at _me_? None."

It broke my heart that she thought this. She and I had grown close and I just wish I saw it sooner. "Ange. I'm sorry you feel that way."

I had grown up a little insecure myself, but experience had me able to have a man rendered unconscious with a smile. It had nothing to do with looks, it was confidence.

I shook my head. "Look, I know I can't convince you that he likes you. But I can tell you that you are gorgeous." I could see the protest in her eyes. "You are."

We talked for a little longer, and I got her to settle down a bit before getting back to work. We may have to work on her confidence some more.

The rest of the day went pretty well, Angela was back to her old self after our talk. But I was still worried about her.

I got a call from Alice during my coffee break. "Howdy Ali." I said into my cell phone, putting my cup of celestial delight down.

"Helloooo. I need to ask you a favor." She started.

I nodded to myself. "Knock your socks off kid." I said, in approval.

"Okie-Dokie. You know how I put my car in for service today?"

I did, she mentioned it today.

"Well, I don't get it back until tomorrow. I was meeting Jasper at his office building-I went by cab-but because he was in a meeting at the time, he couldn't call me to tell me that he had to work late. I'm here with him now, but I was wondering if-"

I cut her off. "If I could pick you up?"

She hummed in approval. "Yes please, I'm gonna stay here 'till after you close, is that okay?"

"Sure, that's fine. I'll bring Jaz some left overs for dinner."

I heard Jasper in the background say_ 'thank-you'_. "Oooh, and bring me a coffee please, the stuff here that the receptionist makes is horrid."

"I think I coddle you with my coffee, dear." I joked.

She laughed. "I know, nothing compares." Her voice invoking mock whimsy.

We chatted for a few more minutes, but I needed to get back to work.

We closed up as usual, though Rosalie had to leave early for a doctors appointment. Seth's parents were meeting him at his place, they were staying for a couple of days, so he needed to make sure they could get into his building.

So it was just Angela. "Hey kid." I put my hand on her shoulder, we had just switched of the lights and were putting on our coats. "You okay now?"

She looked at me, a small smile hitting her face. "Yeah. I'm sorry about today. I was an idiot."

I shook my head at her. "No you weren't."

"I was a spaz, I hate being like that...I'm sorry, it was unprofessional, it won't happen again." She picked up her purse, zipping it up slowly.

I looked directly at her. "We all have those days. Don't sweat it." We smiled at each other and parted ways. She locked up for me, so I could get to my car and pick up Alice.

I had already served up some of the _pumpkin and coconut milk Risotto_ for Jasper to have for dinner and some _chocolate mousse_ for dessert. I also had coffee for Alice and I, but I left it in the car.

I found the building easily enough in the evening light-or lack there of. The building itself was elaborate, I was thankful I had worn a nice black dress and heels to work today.

I found the elevator with some effort. Before we hung up, Alice told me Jasper's office was on the _12th_ floor. I pressed the button deftly and watched the doors as they began to close.

As they doors were just about to meet, I heard a very rushed voice practically shout. "Please! Hold the elevator door."

I furiously stuck my leg out to keep the doors from losing. My hands were too full to even consider attempting to press the _open_ button.

The elevator doors opened and I heard a sigh of relief. The man halted for a moment, staring at my leg. He must have been confused as to why I stopped the doors the way I did.

He seemed to snap out of it and walked into the tiny excuse for a room. I heard his sharp intake of breath. I just assumed it was him being out of breath and continued to look forward.

But instead, the man spoke. "Thank-you, the elevators in this building are like snails. and I needed to get back to work."

I hadn't expected that. I was still so used to New York, a place where getting a grunt and not being abused meant that they didn't have a problem with you. It was nice. "Don't worry about, It's not a problem." I smiled looking up at him for the first time.

I finally got a good look at him. _Wow_. His light grey suit brought out his piercing green eyes, it was like someone shoved two emeralds in through thickly lashed holes. His hair was a unique bronzed brown color, it was cut short but stuck up in every direction, like he had been running his hands through it all day. But it also looked purposeful. And his face...If there was some kind of weird science that could create your perfect looking man, he would be it for me.

I realized that I was staring, so I smiled and quickly turned my head. "What floor are you?" He asked, pointing his finger towards the buttons.

_Speak, Bella. Speak._ "twelve please." He looked at me funny.

"Me too." He pressed the number _12 _button and stood back to his previous spot.

We both turned our attention forward. twelve floors suddenly felt like fifty. I felt hyper-sensitive, an electrical charge was pulsing in the room. I wonder if he felt it too. It was nothing I had ever felt before.

I couldn't resist one last look at him. I turned my head back slightly and noticed him looking at me. If I were in his position, I probably would have turned my head away swiftly. But he just smiled at me. Beautiful, he was beautiful. I turned back, almost in a daze.

The _ding_ sound almost scared me to death. I carefully stepped off and he did after, closely to me while still giving me space.

"You're not a client?..." He asked, puzzled. At 7:00pm? Not likely.

I shook my head. "No, just picking up a friend." I smiled at him. "Good luck with your work." I needed to leave before I made a fool of myself.

Good luck with your work? _Smooth Bella, smooth._

I turned on my heel and went left. Alice told me to go left from the elevators and down to room _6_. I knocked on the door.

I looked back to the right, looking for the man. He was walking in the opposite direction. As if sensing me staring at him, he turned his head. He smiled, which I couldn't help but return, only coyly. He turned back and continued on to where ever he was going.

What is he doing to me? I didn't even know his name...

The door opened and the pixy smiled. "Bella, you found us!...You didn't bring coffee..."

I laughed at her pouty face. "It's in the car for us, Ali." I turned to Jasper. "Here you go, my dear. Dinner, dessert and a bottle of Orange juice."

"Bless you darlin'." His southern drawl in full force. He and Alice said their goodbyes...I turned my head during that saliva fest.

As Alice and I were walking back to the elevators, she wrap her arm through mine and spoke. "So what did you do today Bella-boop?"

"Same old, same old." I didn't really know how to describe to her my actual day.

I spent the day convincing my employee that the guy she had a crush on liked her back, and I met the most beautiful man I had ever seen and I probably will never meet him again, and I didn't even get his first name and I'm considering bribing her boyfriend with free meals into finding out who he is...Not easy to articulate physically...and I don't think Alice would appreciate an interpretive dance. I don't have a leotard near me even if I wanted to do so.

Alice all but ran to my car. She started scratching at the passenger side door, like a puppy caught in the rain. I love coffee, but she _really_ loved coffee.

We drove home in silence. Alice was in an orgasmic bliss from her decaf vanilla latte, with a shot of hazelnut syrup _and _one of rum cream. I was deep in thought.

It wasn't just that he was beautiful, it was something else. There was a spark between this mystery man and I...And I didn't even bother to ask him his name.

_I was an Idiot._

"Mm-mm! Bella, have I told you how much I love you? 'cause it grows with every sip I take of this."

_I was an idiot_, with a best friend that looked like she wanted to mount me for my coffee making skills.

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**_They met! They met! I'd like you all to keep in mind of the title of this story. Serendipity will play very well in this story. R&R. Take care. _**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer: I don't own twilight...But that pay check would be lovely.**_

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_"Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous." - Albert Einstein._

**Chapter five**

The feeling of being snuggled between my sheets was glorious.

I had recently splurged on five hundred thread count pure cotton sheets, and now I never wanted to leave my bed. I had been adding my own little touches to the apartment of late, not changing Alice's artistry, but still making myself more comfortable.

Alice and I made the decision that I would move in to the apartment permanently. We both figured that we could save some money sharing a place, and-when the day came-when Alice and Jasper decided to move in together, I'd live here on my own. Alice thought of all of this when she asked about it.

_"So what do you think?" Alice asked, after approaching me with the topic._

_I contemplated it for a moment. "It's sounds like a good idea. I mean we both love living together, I'm comfortable here, it's close to work, it'll save us both money..."_

_"Exactly. Plus I kind of have a feeling that Jaz will ask me if we should move in together soon, so you could keep the stuff here and I could have fun creating a space for he and I." She had already considered this apparently._

_I nodded. "Alright, I'll have to give Jacob a call, I guess." We hadn't spoken since I moved, and I wasn't exactly looking forward to it._

_Alice and I talked more about this, over a dinner of chicken stir fry, which was braised in my own mustard and garlic marinade. We shared a bowl of ice-cream and watched horror movies. With all the work I had been putting into the bakery and Alice's career requiring more and more hours, she and I hadn't been able to find many moments for legitimate _'Best friend time'_. _

_We spent the next two hours shouting at the idiotic half naked people, about how they wouldn't die if they had have listen to us._

Which is why I was now feeling completely unable to leave my-now permanent-and ever so soft bed.

Today was Sunday, which meant no work for me until tomorrow. I loved my job so much, but I loved sleeping in on my days off just as much. It was how I would re-fuel myself.

Half asleep and completely absorbed in the scent of cotton, lavender fabric softer and my own vanilla perfume, I didn't hear the door open. Something tiny plopped onto my bed and under the sheets.

I grumbled to myself. "Alice, if you came in her to spoon...Just don't wake me." I'm not sure if that came out of my mouth as anything more than a mumble.

Alice didn't respond, and I began to hear a sniffing noise. I rolled over to the sound and was suddenly staring into the eyes of a big, golden dog.

I screamed.

I scream _and_ fell out of my bed, taking the duvet with me by accident.

I heard two voices at the door laughing. "Oh, Bells that was _Hilarious_." Alice's Laughter only got louder. I should have known she was up to this.

I rubbed my left eye, sitting up slowly. Once their laughter died down, I got back up, leaving the duvet on the floor. "Well, hi." I said to the big canine that was now laying flat in the centre of my bed, patting it's head lightly.

It was a beauty, that was for sure. _A Labrador?_ I thought to myself. Jasper-who I didn't even know stayed here last night-stepped forward and spoke. "Bel, this is my dog, Olive. And sorry about that, Alice insisted." She promptly whacked her boyfriend over the head. "Tattle-tale" She mumbled.

I continued to pat the dog. "Hi Olive, I would have killed whoever woke me up, but you just too cute to even consider it."

"I'm not cute?" Alice asked, a mock pout on her lips.

I nodded. "In a tiny, annoying Tinkerbell kind of way. Yes." I added that for her benefit. She poked her tongue out of me, stomping off in a pretend huff.

Jasper and I laughed lightly. He whistled for Olive to follow him, which did hid obediently. Aww. I realized that I wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep, so I blindly made my bed, threw on my fluffy robe and trudged into the kitchen.

I didn't bother acknowledging them as I entered, they were being gooey with each other and I didn't feel like breaking that up.

I went straight to the fridge, pulling out eggs, fresh parsley, spinach, bacon and garlic. Omelettes were on the menu for us today. I quickly whipped them up in a bowel, while Jasper made coffee for us all and Alice even decide to squeeze some fresh orange juice.

They tasted delicious, and I chugged down my O.J pretty quickly. I decided against coffee this morning, figuring I'd pick some up on the way to my run, or something.

After breakfast, I went back to my room. I knew Alice and Jasper would want more _quality time_ with each other, and I did _not_ want to hear that. If I was being honest, I was jealous, It _had_ been a while...

I agreed with myself, that taking a long run and a nice walk though the local park would be the plan for my morning. As it was the last month of summer and this was Seattle, I dressed carefully for the climate. I stepped into my favorite black yoga pants (They were my favorite because they were tight but comfortable _and_ made my butt look terrific.), and a simple but firm fitted, periwinkle blue tank.

I threw on my sport socks and running shoes, grabbed a hair-tie and put my hair up in a simple ponytail. I washed my face with a cream cleanser and applied a little lotion with an SPF and headed out the door.

My run was relaxing. Running had always been my favorite form of exercise, it was the only kind of sport that didn't have bats or balls flying at me; That would be cause of injury for me, being _me_.

The fresh sea air felt wonderful in my lungs, I always made it a point to run past the pier and stare at the beautiful pacific ocean.

I was very lucky with the life I had and was beginning to learn how to be more humble. Appreciating the little things were a part of that.

Panting at the coffee stand at the park, I figured it would be a good time to take a break. So I ordered my double strength vanilla latte and went to sit down on the nearest seat.

I found a bench, right near a beautiful fountain and plunked down, not caring about looking graceful. I soaked in the warm sun, it was out today and it felt lovely. I could feel the vitamin D soaking in...Or maybe is was just melanoma. I put on sunscreen, so I'm good.

Losing myself in my own thoughts, I started to think about how much things have changed. I moved to Seattle almost six months ago and nothing was the same. This time last year, I was working in a passionless job and was in a passionless relationship.

_Note to self: Don't forget to call Jacob when you get home, about your left over things._

Feeling warm in my own bubble, watching the leaved on the trees move in the gentle wind I didn't realize that someone approached me. "Bella!"

Started out of my train of thought, I looked up. "Rose. Hey, what are you doing here?" I smiled at her.

She shrugged. "Family day in the park, the entire Cullen brood are here." She gestured to the little boy hugging her legs. "Nate's grandparents insisted when they came up from Renton yesterday." She smiled, shaking her head.

I waved to the child. We hadn't met yet. "Nate-y, this is my friend Bella." The little guy waved back at me. "Hi." He said timidly.

"It's nice to meet you Nate." I smiled at him.

Rosalie spoke again. "So, what are you up to?" We chit chatted for several minutes, after a few moments a shadow covered us. A large _human shaped_ shadow.

"Rosie, I've been looking for you." The hulk sized man said.

Rosalie waddled over to him, pulling him over to me. Rosalie was now five months along in her pregnancy, he and her husband decided against learning the sex of the baby. I didn't know how they could do it, I hated surprises.

"Emmett I want you to meet Bella. Bel, this is my husband." So this was Emmett. He was very attractive looking. Big, but with a baby face and light blue eyes.

He smiled, two big dimples showing up cutely. "Hey Bella, great to finally meet you. My Rosie talks about you all the time." He offered his ginormous hand to shake.

I took it, returning his smile. "She does you too."

Small talk was had again for a moment. Emmett was a funny guy. "Oh Bella, come meet my parents." He said. _What? _"Oh, I'm not really in the right clothes for that."

He batted his hand to the side. "You look fine, come on." He pulled my arm, dragging me and picking up Nate in the process. Rose trailed behind, shrugging at me in a 'whatever' kind of way.

We walked up to a lunch site where two middle aged people were talking grouchily. "That boy works too hard, it'll kill him." The woman with Grey-ing Caramel brown hair said.

"A little hard work never killed anyone." The blond man answered back.

The woman shook her head. "Yes is has, in Japan they call it _Karoshi_."

"Well it's a good thing that we don't live in Japan then, huh?" He smiled and kissed her forehead. We walked up to them.

Emmett spoke first. "Mom, Dad. We brought home a stray."

Rosalie slapped his forehead. "What he means to say, is this is Bella. My boss."

"Oh honey, it's lovely to meet you. I'm Esme and this is my husband Carlisle." He waved to me, too focused on getting the barbecue to work. "Rosalie speaks of you often." Esme said.

She waltzed over and hugged me, a nice warm motherly hug. We smiled back at each other "It's nice to meet you too."

Emmett interrupted. "So what were you guys complaining about?"

The blond man groaned into the grill. Esme spoke again. "Edward will be late."

"Again." Emmett added, as if it were some hidden ending to her sentence. Rosalie pulled me to a seat. "Emmett..." She shook her head. "Edward is working hard to make a name for himself. His job requires a lot of time and effort."

Esme nodded. "I know, but he must not be getting a lot of sleep. He's thirty one, he should be settling down...Maybe even find a nice woman."

I figured this was a family thing, so I stood. "It was lovely meeting you guys, but I really need to be off." I gestured with my thumb, the direction I was headed.

"Okay honey." Esme said, she came up to me again and captured me in another big hug. "It was nice meeting you too, I hope we meet again." I saw a glint in her eye in that moment. "You know. Edward is a lovely young man, and very handsome..." She looked for my response.

Emmett laughed. "Mom, stop pimping my wife's boss out to my brother...Now that's a sentence I never thought I'd say." She didn't look apologetic.

I smiled and waved to everyone, telling Rosalie that I would see her tomorrow and '_booped_' Nate's little nose.

My walk back was uneventful, as was the rest of my day. I did some laundry, tidied my closet, and ordered Chinese for Alice and I. Easy to say my partying days were over.

~/~/~/~

"I'd like a Tall double strength, half calf Mocha espresso with a shot of caramel syrup. Use rice milk and add two sweeteners. How much does that come to?" A simple _please_ couldn't be added to that sentence, huh? Alright.

I made the middle aged business man his complicated drink, smiling politely while imagining throwing it at him. This week had gone exceedingly slow, now that things at work had gotten easier. I had regular clients and had great turn over, I was paid well and was able to give my employees a good pay check as well.

But something felt _missing_.

My home life was good, my work life was good, but there was _something_. Some void in my heart that ached when I thought about it. _Or possibly, I was paranoid and about to have a heart attack._

During my lunch break, I wrote a grocery list for Alice and I. Her, working late and me needing to get home right after work to do inventory left our pantry and fridge to get exceedingly empty. _Does. Not. Compute_. Not for a chef. I needed real food in my house, I actually had to eat Alice's horrid _Bran flakes _for breakfast this morning.

As this grocery trip was a big one, I decided to take my time. I read the ingredients on the back of packets, felt and smelt for the best fruit and vegetables, and analysed all the meats I was interested in before choosing what I wanted. I got bottles of water (and almost broke my spine in the process of trying to pick it up), ice-cream and feminine products for Alice. It was safe to say that my cart was not going to fit anything else.

Rounding the corner carefully, I was too concerned with keeping the items in the cart safe that I didn't see someone turning their own cart in. Yes, I realized that irony. We hit each other a little to sharply not to be acknowledged. A tingling sensation zipped up my arm unpleasantly.

"Um. Hi." The voice said. I looked up the owner of the voice. I knew that face.

It was _him_.

The man that shocked my body into temporary confusion, just from sharing an elevator with me. What would _this_ interaction do to me?

_Oh crap he greeted me. Say something_. "Hello." G_ood work Bella_.

"You remember me?" He sounded a little surprised.

I nodded. "Of course." How could I forget?

I shook the thoughts out of my head. Time to be assertive. "I'm Bella." I softly stuck my hand out for him to shake. He took it and I felt a literal spark. By the look on his face, he felt it too.

"Edward." Where had I heard that name before?

I smiled at him. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too...Hey could you help me with something?" His eyes squinted a tiny bit.

Anything. "Sure." He pointed to the isle to my left. "I'm making dinner for my Brother and his wife. They love lasagne, so I thought I'd make that. But I'm not too sure which pasta is the best choice for us." He left his cart where it was and wandered across the isle, to where the pasta was. He looked back it me, his eyes playful. I took that as my moment to speak.

If he wanted to play...

"Well that depends." I said, adding a little extra breath to my voice.

I sauntered up to where he now was, taking my time. "What are their tastes?" I let the words fall out of my mouth, slowly and deliberately.

I saw him visibly gulp. We talked back and forth for a few moments. It was playful and fun. In the end he asked me what I do with lasagne "Well, when I make lasagne, I usually just make my own pasta."

He looked at me with polite confusion. "Oh, I'm a chef."

"Really?" His smile was truly beautiful. I nodded.

He looked at me for a moment, before turning back to the pasta choices and started speaking again. "So, wholemeal, white, whatever the hell that green stuff is?..."

I took another couple of steps, fitting myself in front of him slightly. I observed the choices for a moment. "Well, the safe choice would be the wholemeal. It's slightly thicker and won't break as easy in your prep work. But it can taste a little chewy if you under cook it." I pointed to the one in question.

I shifted my finger. "Or, if your feeling more creative-" I smirked at him "-The vegetable Pasta-or as you called it _'green stuff'_-It breaks easier, but tastes a little nicer."

He contemplated it. "Uh to hell with it. I make a mean meat sauce, so if the green ones breaks, they won't notice." He picked up a box. "You only live once." He joked.

Edward gestured for us to go back to our carts. He stared into it for a moment, tapping his fingers on the metal. "For what it's worth, it was nice meeting you."

"You too." He had to leave. _No, don't leave. _

He sighed. "Okay. I'm going to ask you something, you are more than free to say no. I swear I won't stalk you or anything, but...Would you like to have dinner with me?" He was looking at me through his eyelashes. Holy hell.

"Okay." Was all I was able to say, I had never been so nervous around a man. Or not since high school at the very least.

We exchanged numbers and parted, begrudgingly. I went through the check-out in a daze, my legs felt sewn on. I called Alice when I got to the apartment, to help me bring up the groceries to our floor.

I didn't know how to approach the topic of this with Alice, I chose to leave it until tomorrow. It would give me time to think.

I mean, who goes into a store to get fruit, milk and tampons and comes out of it with a date?

_Me_, apparently.

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**_Hope you liked it. The next chapter will have a lot of things meeting up, the title of this story is no accident. Be sure to add me as an alert for it. Have a nice day. :)_**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Twilight...Sorry if you have already read this chapter, I re-uploaded it after a change in a couple of paragraphs. Enjoy! :)**_

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_"Shallow men believe in luck or in circumstance. Strong men believe in cause and effect." - Ralph Waldo Emerson._

**Chapter six**

"I can't believe you didn't tell me immediately after. I tell you everything about my dating life." Alice said, holding a mug of coffee.

_Almost too much at times. I didn't need to about Jasper and his attention to your...Ahem. Moving on._

It had been two days since I had ran into Edward at the grocery store...Literally. He and I hadn't spoken yet and I decided that I would be a good friend, and would tell Alice before we came in contact with each other and planned a date.

I nodded. "I know Ali, but I had good reason." I knew that would peak her interest.

Her eyes scrunched together slightly, and she tilted her head to the side. Mission accomplished. "_Good reason_? I'm listening."

I took a sip of my coffee, my version of non-alcoholic liquid courage. "I think he works with Jasper."

"Huh?" Her head tilted back into place, confused.

I nodded. "Yep, we didn't actually first meet in the grocery store." I looked at her face for a reaction, before continuing. "We met in the elevator of Jaz's office, that night I picked you up."

The scrunchy face was back, she looked like bulldog puppy. "And you didn't tell me?!" She screeched like a banshee in heat.

"What was I supposed to say? _Oh I met this guy in the elevator. Please-you and Jasper-help me find him so I can climb a tree and stare at him through his window_. I didn't even know if there was anything there, if he felt the same spark."

She shook her head. "But he did, apparently."

"But I didn't _know_ that. _And_ I didn't know how closely he worked with Jasper, if he even does. Jasper could have felt weird asking him that kind of thing and I wouldn't want to put that on _your boyfriend_." I sighed, flopping down onto my elbows. I let the cold marble of the kitchen counter ease my anxiety.

She copied me, looking up at me with her chin on her forearms. "I'm sorry."

I looked at her remorseful face, giving her a slight but sad smile. "He is the first guy I've been interested in since Jacob...I don't want to screw it up."

Alice took my hand, rubbing it from her position. This was one of the best things about our friendship, we could argue but once everything was out it the open and 'sorry's' were given, all was right between us. We never held grudges or walk all over each other.

I decided to start dinner then and, with Alice's help, made a lovely peanut butter and red pepper stir fry. We took our time, sipping on red wine and chit chatting about work and local events. Alice and I ended up lounging in the living room, deep conditioning masks in our hair and commenting about how celebrities complain too much while flipping through trash magazines.

~/~/~/~

Wednesday came and went, with a nice flirty text-ing session with Edward. We were able to solidify a date and solidify some of our feelings. I was never the girl that needed a commitment immediately-in fact I usually insisted on taking things slow-but it was always nice to know that someone felt something for you romantically.

_I had just gotten back from work, my shoes were off, my hair was down and a glass of wine had just been poured for me by Alice. I heard my cell phone ding and thought nothing of it, walking over to my purse to fish it out._

_The text read;_

'Hello Beautiful, I'd like to apologise for not being able to get into contact with you until now. I've been in San Francisco for work and needed to know when I'd be back before I could ask you out. -E'

_Finally, someone else that doesn't use that annoying 'text speak'. I didn't mind him waiting, his reasoning was sweet, but I was so used to New York men that would think that a week was too short to contact you. _

_Alice noticed me perk up from his text. "Oooh, is that lover boy?" After telling Alice about Edward, I had made her promise not to have Jasper look into Edward, his job or anything about him. I wanted to learn it myself. __I shushed her, telling her that I'd be in my room and to tell me when the oven timer beeped._

'San Fran huh? The ocean is beautiful there, the hilly roads not so much. It doesn't matter, what did you have in mind? -B'

'May I call you? -E'

_and I can hear your voice? Shit yeah!_ 'Sure. -B' _Not thirty seconds after I sent the text, my phone rang. "Eager?" I said into the speaker._

_"When it comes to you, yes." _

_I smiled. "I like an honest man."_

_He laughed lightly, "And I look forward to finding out what else you like, say Saturday at 8?" Straight to the point, I can deal with that. __"Saturday's good, where are we going?" __I had to ask, being me. He answered right away. "Just a place I've always loved."_

_"Chuck-E Cheese? You may have loved it when you were a kid Edward, but this is a date..." I trailed off, exaggeration evident in my voice._

_Edward laughed again. "God, I haven't had Chuck-E Cheese over in a decade. Sadly no, just a nice place on the pier."  
_

_I loved the pier. "I love the pier."_

_"Good, so I'll see you then?" How on earth was I detecting nerves in his voice?_

_I mumbled a small laugh at that possibility. "Unless you're cupid." Wait, would he even get that reference?_

_"Oh trust me Bella, I would never order you to never look at me." He did get it apparently._

_I smiled into the phone, switching it to the other side of my face. "I'm glad, so Saturday?"_

_"At 8." He agreed._

_We said our goodbyes and well wishes for a goodnight sleep. I just sat in my room, on my bed for a moment. Damn, what was that man doing to me?_

"Bella?" Rosalie broke me out of my reverie.

I shook my head until I was back in the moment. "Yeah?" I asked.

"Nothing, you just looked a little spaced out." I apologised. We were sharing our lunch break, as the _lunch rush_ just finished so the store was virtually empty at the moment. Angela had already had her lunch earlier and was now in the kitchen, prepping more meals.

She batted her hand. "Don't worry about it. I was just going to extend an invite to Nate's Birthday tomorrow afternoon, after work."

"Oh. Well is it a family thing...?" I didn't want to intrude again...

She shook her head. "No, not really. Nate has some friends coming, and their _parents_. I thought I got away from those snobs after high school, but now they have kids!" She exclaimed. "Anyway, I'd like you to be there, as my buffer. Emmett is too concerned with giving horse-y rides and sneaking a bite of the cake when I'm not looking to keep me from killing the parents." She shook her head at her husband.

"Well alright, count me in." Rosalie and I had grown really close, why say no?

She smiled brightly. "Good, though you'll probably have to bat away Esme's attempts to set you up with her other son."

"Oh?" I asked. I hadn't mentioned Edward to her yet, it wasn't professional to do it at work anyway.

Rosalie nodded. "Yeah, she's been talking about it since she met you last Sunday. She really likes you." That's nice, I guess. She continued. "What's worse is that he will be there, probably late, but it only make he try more."

I shook my head. I was nice that she liked me, but she didn't know if he son and I would click at all. And I was kind-of-but-not-really-yet involved with Edward. I honestly doubted that this guy would compare.

"What can ya do?" I just left it at that. I can't stop her from trying, I guess.

We got back to work and I forgot about it for the most part. Afternoons got hard again, people coming from work in need of something sweet to get them though the rest of the day. I had to bake more cupcakes and cookies after lunch as they were all gone. My peanut butter surprise cookies didn't even make it to lunch. Just one of those day, I guess.

Friday was easy, I had offered to bake Nate's birthday cake and Rosalie accepted before some the words were completely out of my mouth. Rosalie said he had a teddy bear that he loved, and loved bears in general. So I decided to make a 3.D cake, in the shape of a brown teddy bear. It sat up and everything.

Thursday evening, I had made a _cookie pie _with M&M's, _cookie monster cupcakes_ (they looked like the cookie monster, they even had a half a cookie poking out where the mouth would be) and _rainbow Oreo's_ (which were just Oreo's dipped in dyed white chocolate, all the colors of the rainbow).

Rosalie had no clue what to have other than mini pizzas, sliced fruit and what Esme was bringing. Rosalie still wasn't confident with her cooking and I wanted to help her show up the snobby parents of the kids. I even made Pimento cheese and avocado home made chips, and asparagus phyllo's for the adults.

She thanked me profusely, she hadn't asked me to go to that much effort. I always helped a friend in need and it was a nice thank-you for her being such an awesome employee, even when over half way through a pregnancy.

~/~/~/~

When I got back from work on Friday, I brought in my newly cooked cake from my car and took out the other items from the fridge, leaving Alice and Jasper a rainbow Oreo in the fridge to try later. What Rosalie didn't know was that, I really enjoyed creating new items. Making those for her had been really fun for me and even had me considering making it a bigger part of the bakery.

Feeling a little sticky from my day, I took a quick shower to rinse off. I went through my skincare routine and lotioned my body swiftly. I dressed casually, in a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a silky red blouse and black flats. I blow-dried my hair into a shiny mass and ran a straightener through it quickly.

I kept my makeup fairly simple too, just concealer, setting powder and blush on my face. I used three neutral shade on my eyes and a little eyeliner on my lids before mascara. The rose pink shade of lip-gloss in my purse from today would suffice.

Spraying on a spritz of my perfume, I gave myself one more look-over. Nodding to myself in approval, I grabbed my purse, Nate's gift, the food and headed out.

I found their street easily enough, and figured that the home with the balloons on the mailbox and several cars out the front was it.

I was intuitive like that.

Knocking on the door with plastic containers, turned out to be quite the feat. But I was no quitter and powered through it...And almost dropped twenty little cookie monsters on the ground.

The door sprung open. "Bella! You came." Esme looked lovely in the purple blouse she was wearing, it was her color. She noticed the containers and took the top two off of me. "Come in, come in. Not many have arrived yet."

Rosalie and Emmett's home was beautiful, nicely decorated but full of little boy things. Hey, when I have a kid I'll be happy if the house is clean.

"Bells!" Emmett said as Esme ushered me through to the kitchen. He was able to treat you like a friend as soon as he knew you, I liked that.

Rosalie walked over to me from the kitchen bench, grabbing the items from my hands and putting them on the table. She then pulled me into a hug. Which was hard with the ever growing belly. "Thank god you're here. The snobs are driving me crazy." She whispered. "Like I give a crap about your tennis match in California this summer vacation, I spent it paying bills and needing to pee every five minutes!" She yelled through the whisper.

I laughed lightly, pulling away. "I'm here now, it's fine." Esme introduced me to everyone while Rosalie put my food onto platters. I saw the look on her face and was glad that the snobs (and they _really_ were) had moved into the other room.

"Bella, you did so much." She said perplexed.

I shrugged. "I had nothing to do last night..."

She looked a me like I was crazy. "But still. Thank-you."

"You showed me up Bella. I don't mind, they _look_ scrumptious." Esme added, pointing to the Pimento cheese and avocado home made chips. She promptly picked one up and tried one. Groaning, she spoke again. "Mmm, those are divine. I will have to visit your bakery the next time I'm in the city."

Carlisle came in a moment later. "Ladies." He said, in lieu of a _hello_.

We made small talk for a while. I learned that Carlisle was a doctor, he was the head of paediatric department. You could tell he loved his job just by the look on his face. Esme worked part time at an art gallery in Renton, she told me that she'd call during the next show and have Rose and I drive up for the night-before she gives birth-She even invited Alice when Rosalie mentioned her.

The front door slammed slightly and heavy footsteps trailed the hallway into the kitchen. "I'm late, I know. I'm sorry guys can I-" The persons eyes met mine.

Edward.

Holy mother of crap. _Edward_ was their Edward. I knew the name was familiar.

We kept staring at each other, not able to look away. I could feel the blood rising to my cheeks. Uh oh. The tension between us could be cut with a knife but no one else seemed to noticed that.

"That's fine Edward honey." Esme started. "I want you to meet someone..." She said, dragging me toward him.

He nodded blankly. "Bella..." His voice, barely above a whisper.

"You know her?" Rosalie said, I had forgotten she was even in the room.

I took that as my moment to speak. I looked at Edward again, getting his approval to shorten the explanation. "He works with Jasper, Alice's boyfriend." Rosalie know exactly who Jasper was, he came into the bakery often enough, but Esme didn't.

"Yes, Jasper Whitlock." Edward added. "He assists us associates. Very bright young man..." He trailed off, I think my connection to the firm must have eaten at him with confusion or something.

Esme smiled brightly, like a child at Christmas, or Nate when he saw the wrapping paper of the present I got him. (A book; The wizard of Oz. Rosalie and Emmett read to him before bed every night and now he was beginning to get bored of the picture books they had).

Esme spoke again. "Well come on, take a seat." She gestured for us to sit at the kitchen table. Next to each other. Rosalie did say Esme was going to try to set me up...little did Esme know.

"So, how do you know everyone?" Edward asked politely. I opened my mouth to speak, but before I even spoke one word Esme piped up. "Oh, she's Rose's boss. I've told you about her." Esme continued talking about how lovely my food was, she had sampled everything I had brought today.

I heard Edward mumble to himself. "I didn't realize that Bella was _my_ Bella. But I guess, how common is the name?" I don't think he meant for me to hear that. Still. _My Bella._

We talked again for several minutes. Edward would send a smile my way every now and again, which I would return. I made sure not to be alone with Esme, I didn't want her getting the information out of me, when there wasn't any to give yet.

The kids played games, Nate unwrapped his presents and we all sang happy birthday to him. The cake was a hit, all the parents asked me for my card for their kid's birthdays. I wasn't complaining, and I always kept business cards on hand.

Rosalie was doing the dishes when I came into the kitchen to re-fill my drink. "Hey you, stop that." I said.

"I'll just be a couple more minutes." She said, turning her head away from her work.

I walked up to the sink, yanked the wet sponge out of her hand and flicked my free hand at her. "Shoo, I'll get this."

"No, it's fine I real-"

I shook my head and interrupted her. "_You_ should be spending time with your son. Go on, scoot." I pointed toward the door. Thankfully she didn't argue with me further.

She took off the plastic gloves and handed them to me. "Thanks." She said simply, though her eyes said more. She waddled away carefully.

I had never really liked doing dishes, but slipped on the gloves and got to it anyway. There wasn't that much to do.

"The cake was lovely Miss Swan." I turned my head, already knowing the voice. I didn't even hear him come in.

"You know my last name?" He nodded. "Emmett." was all he said about it, and then continued on. "But the cake, it really was beautiful...I had an ear." I laughed at his expression.

Edward walked slowly toward me. "Move over. You wash, I'll dry." I didn't argue, I hated drying.

We stayed silent for a while, getting the work done. Occasionally bumping arms and smiling at each other.

"My family thinks very highly of you." What did that mean? Did he not like that?

I smiled slightly. "I think the world of them too. Rosalie has become one of my closest friends since I moved here."

Some of that information surprised him. "Moved here?" I was right.

"Yeah, I lived in New York until February of this year. I grew up in Washington and missed it..." I trailed off, not wanting to scare him off by rambling on about my past.

He smiled. "Did you attend school there?" I nodded.

We spent the next few minutes talking and cleaning. I learned that he was a family practice Lawyer and wanted to be partner by age thirty-five. I learned that he absolutely adored Nate. I also gave away a few things of my own. I told him about my dad, though I skipped the landmine that is my mother and I talked about the bakery.

"I'll have to come in some time." He said.

I peered up at him through my lashes. "I'd like that."

He looked at me for a few moments, looking like he was mulling something over in his head. We had yet to breach the topic of our date...

"So I met this girl in the grocery store the other day. She was easily the most beautiful woman I have _ever_ seen." His eyes were piercing though mine. He continued. "I asked her to help me with my dinner plans, not knowing that she cooked for a living, really I just wanted to keep her talking. I just really wanted to be near her."

I couldn't help but smile at his sweet words. I was about to speak, but he started again. "By some miracle she said yes when I asked her to dinner. I spent my entire trip to California thinking about her, hoping that my not being able to call wasn't shown as a sign of disinterest. I texted her when I got back, afraid to hear the rejection in her voice if I called."

I felt him move closer to me, and he was still staring. "And all along, I could've just visited my sister-in-law at her work. I almost had so many times, but another pile of documents would end up on my desk, and I would have to spend my lunch break going through them while scarfing down a bagel."

We were now practically touching chests-Well, in theory. My forehead reached his chin-I had never heard him talk so much, but I had no idea what to say back just yet.

"Now I find that not only is she my brothers wife's _boss_ and my colleagues girlfriend's _best friend_, but also the woman my mother was trying to set me up with."

I groaned, lightly. "You too?" I queried. He nodded.

Once I got my voice back, I spoke again. "So this girl...She sounds hot." _Trust me to make a joke right now. _

Thankfully, he laughed. "She's perfect...And I hope, not scared off by my mother _and_ still willing to go out with me tomorrow."

"Oh, I think your mother would kill us both if I said no." I smirked. Though, it might have been true.

He smirked back at me, closing the distance. I didn't argue. Our lips met deftly, like they were made to kiss each other. They moved in sync with our tongues, neither battling for dominance. He moved his hands to my head, holding me right there with him. We were equals-even with the height difference-and it was wonderful.

He nibbled my bottom lip slightly, and I responded by sucking lightly on his top lip. We were playful and hot in the moment. He wrapped his arms around my waist, mine moved from his arms to his shoulders. The kiss turned from playful and fast to slow and sensual. We were learning about each other. If any of the kids walked in..._This is the precursor to how babies are made, kids. Have fun with that conversation parents._ But I couldn't think of that right now, all that I could think of was Edward's body against mine.

Eventually the kiss died down, small pecks taking their place. Heavy breathing replaced the tiny, quiet moans we had been making. "You give me butterflies." I said, not bothering to switch the green light on my mental filter.

I felt him smile into the sweet kiss he gave me after the words were said.

"Hey, were just about done with the cake, did you want some-" Esme walked just at the _right_ moment, we yanked ourselves away from each other and turned back to the sink before she even turned the corner into the kitchen. Thank god, I didn't want to explain that one.

She stopped, most lightly looking at our no doubt flushed expressions. "Did I interrupt anything?"

Thankfully Edward took the lead on this one. "The dishes. Bella was talking to me about the bakery." Well, I had mentioned it before so it wasn't a _complete_ lie.

"Okay..." She didn't seem convinced, but didn't push. "Did you want cake Bella?" I declined, sugar would not help me right now.

She smiled sweetly again, walking up to me. "Thank-you for coming, and for all the food you made for today. We really appreciate you and everything you have done for our family." This woman was a superb excuse for a human, and I just lied about playing tonsil hockey with her son.

_I hope there's coffee and WiFi in hell..._

We exchanged thanks again to each other. I really wished that I had a mother like that growing up. "I actually have to get going." I said, needing to breathe in some fresh air.

"Okay, honey. Well drive home safely " She said, her hands on my arms. I nodded.

Rosalie walked in, Emmett trailing behind her with a sleeping Nate on his shoulder. "You're leaving?"

"Yeah. I mean, others have already left and Alice probably hasn't even eaten yet." That was a lie, she had left over vegetable soup from last night that she could heat up and eat.

I looked over to Edward. Who to the casual eye looked disinterested, but his ear was turned as he was putting plates away. He was listening but keeping his distance.

We said our goodbyes and Rosalie waddled me out. She hugged me and thanked me again for the help, the snobs raved over my food because their kids loved it. I would be expecting some calls soon, apparently.

I got into my car and started it up. But before I put it in drive, my phone ding-ed. _'I'll see you tomorrow Miss Swan. -E'_

I smiled, how could I not? _'I'll look forward to it Mr. Cullen. -B' _

* * *

**_ Hehe, hope you liked it. Let me know how you'd like the date to go down in a review, I take all into consideration and love to hear from you all. :) _****_I actually made the teddy bear birthday cake for my older brother's son on his birthday last year (Though, I'm no chef). Thank-you pinterest for the food ideas. :)_**


	7. Chapter 7

**_It took awhile for me to get this chapter to flow correctly, this was an important one for Edward and Bella (First date!) so I wanted it to be perfect. I'm currently un-beta'd so I let myself take my time. :) Enjoy!  
_**

* * *

****_"We love life, not because we are used to living but because we are used to loving." - Friedrich Nietzsche._

**Chapter seven**

"Uh. I have nothing to wear!" I stated with aggravation, tossing a purple silk blouse onto my bed.

Tonight was my first date with Edward, and to say that I was nervous would be like saying Taylor Swift's music is overrated; A complete under exaggeration. last night had left me completely confuzzled, Edward was the brother-in-law to my employee and close friend Rosalie, _and_ a co-worker to my best friends _boyfriend_. I wasn't sure how I was going to tell Rosalie, but I was hoping it was going to be close to how Alice reacted.

_I sat on the couch staring at my best friend's wide eyes. "Well?" I said, waiting for her reaction._

_"This. Is. Awesome." I had never heard Alice so silent. What did that mean?_

_I looked down at my hands, picking at the nail polish I had applied only several hours before. "You, think?" I asked. Her opinion meant the world to me._

_"Yeah, this is serendipitous Bel. This is the kind of story that you tell your grandchildren." She smiled brightly, her eyes drifting away, full of ideas. _

_I shook my head, laughing at her. "Lets not go that far dude, we haven't even gone on our first date yet."_

_"Oh please, you two are gonna have babies and I'll be the godmother and our kids will be raised together and be best friends like we are and-"_

_"Alice! Shut. Up." I waited for a moment, then continued. "Okay girly, just breathe." She took a breath in and smiled bashfully, realizing that she just got ahead of herself. "Sorry." She said in a small voice, to which I just shrugged and laughed delicately. _

_We left it at that, I already really liked Edward but I couldn't think about that kind of thing right now. I was never the girl that needed to know immediately if the relationship she was in had a future child in the works. I liked kids and wanted one or two, but the majority of my maternal instincts had been wasted on my mother in my early years. I only cooed internally when I saw a cute baby that I didn't know.  
_

So there I sat in the middle of a pile of clothes, my hair setting in Velcro rollers, right in front of my open closet. I was in nothing but a lacy black, strapless bra a matching thong and fuzzy socks to keep my feet warm; _Can you imagine anything hotter?_ Today, I had contemplated going shopping for an outfit, but I wanted a clear head for tonight and knew that stressing over clothes in a store would set the day on a bad path.

"What's your problem?" Alice queried, walking into my room. Jasper wasn't here today so I didn't bother closing the door to my almost-nudeness.

I looked at her sharply. "Did you not hear me? I _said_ it stridently, there was hysteria _clear_ in my voice!" My hands were waving freely in the air. I was overreacting, I'll admit it. To be fair, I hadn't been on a date in a _long_ while.

"Dude, you're acting like-"

I cut her off. "You?" I queried smartly. "Where do you think I learned it from?"

She just rolled her eyes at me. "Come on, what is the issue? Nothing to wear? Well, let's see..." She walked over to my closet, stepping over my little mess. Admittedly, some of the reason my head was currently wacky was because there was a mess in my room right now, I didn't deal well with messes in front of me.

"Okay." Alice started. "You clean up your tiny, barely-existent-to-anyone-else-but-you mess and I'll find you an outfit." I smiled to her in thanks. We had a very _yin and yang_ relationship when it came to dating, we always had. She would help me with clothes and I would always do her makeup. She utilized my makeup applying abilities since moving here for sure.

I tidied up, putting things back onto their hangers and folding items back into the drawers. I sprayed a little perfume onto my skin, and by the time I had finished this, Alice had placed a couple of options onto my bed, shoes to match on the floor. She was efficient that girl.

"There you go my dear."

I smiled and dusted a piece of lint off her shoulder lightly. "Thanks Ali."

She batted her hand dismissively. "Not a problem. I'm going over to Jasper's tonight, Olive is still a little sick and Jaz is driving me mad from it so I offered to help the pampered pooch." Olive was a sweetheart, but had caught the puppy flu last week so I hadn't seen a lot of Jasper in the past few days.

"Alright, well you drive safely." I said politely.

She smiled devilishly. "And _you_ get lucky." I rolled my eyes at her. Though it did sound nice...

Alice had laid out two options onto my bed; The first was a pair of opaque, black tights and a oxblood red flowy dress that sat above my knees, black heels sat on the ground under it. The second options was a firm fitted royal blue bandage dress, the sleeves were three quarters long and the neckline was fairly modest, it did however leave very little to the imagination in it's tightness. The heels were a nude pump that looked almost rose gold depending on the glimmer it gave to the light.

On the blue outfit, Alice also placed a pair of small gold earrings and a nude clutch purse - Clearly she favored this look over the other, so I grabbed my lady balls and shimmied myself into the tight blue dress.

Walking to my vanity table, I sat and opened the top drawer of my makeup collection. I decided to play a little with my makeup, to pass the time. I applied a light foundation, a little concealer, powder to set, a neutral peachy pink to my cheeks and moved on to my eyes.

I threw together a mix of champagne, copper and a little deep purple, I lined my eyes deftly and added two coats of mascara. choosing a simple rose blush color for my lips, I added a little before throwing it into my clutch. I wasn't leaving the date without at least a kiss, so a simple lip would be necessary for tonight.

Stumbling into the bathroom while still in my socks, I pulled out the rollers from my hair and brushed through the curls to give it a more wavy, sultry look. I narrowly missed my eye with the hairspray as I added a little to my hair.

The doorbell rang, And my heart skipped a beat for a few seconds. "I'll get it." Alice shouted from the living room. I froze, the hairspray still in my hand. I put it down and took a breath in. _It's just a first date Bella, you have been on many. This is no different._

But it was different, I wasn't sure why but my heart had never leaped so highly at the thought of being around him alone again. We had left each other last night with unresolved sexual tension and I was unpracticed lately in the dating scene. I just didn't want to screw this up.

I quickly ran to my room while they were still in the hallway, and almost fell onto a lamp in the process. I stepped into the heels, slipped on the earrings and grabbed the clutch.

Taking a few deep breaths, I moved out of my room quietly. This was no time for clumsiness. I caught his eye immediately.

"Bella." Edward breathed with his signature smile.

"Hey." I returned the smile, though shyly.

He walked closer to me slowly, almost like a lion after his prey. "You look lovely." Edward said meeting my eyes.

"Thank-you." I answered sincerely. "So do you." I shot back.

And he did of course. He wore a button down grey shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbow (Why was it so sexy when men did that?), casual black dress pants and simple black and grey shoes. His hair was the same as always and I wondered if the tousled-ness was intentional or if he was as nervous as I was.

My eyes shot behind me to Alice. She was fanning herself dramatically, and pointing to him mouthing _'Hubba hubba' _while shimming her hips from side to side. The height of class, that girl was.

Edward followed my eye line and Alice shot out of her position, looking embarrassed. He smiled slightly and turned back to me. "Ready to go?"

"Of course." He took my right hand in his left and moved me a little closer to him.

"It was lovely meeting you Alice." Edward gave her his free hand to shake. Her tiny hand got even more lost in his grasp than mine did.

She smiled brightly up at him, he was maybe an inch or two taller than Jasper. "You too, and take care of my girl." She pointed to me.

"Thanks _mom_." I mumbled under my breathe.

Edward looked down at me for a moment, something happened in his eyes that I couldn't quite catch. He turned back to my friend. "With my life." He said simply.

We walked together to the hall and he helped me put on my coat. He took my hand again and lead me into the elevator.

I leaned into his framed as we went down the floors, no words were needed and the silence wasn't as awkward as it was last night. _No Edward, I'm not sniffing you, I just...Have a cold...?_

It was odd how comfortable we were together already, casual intimacy wasn't something I was so easy to give away with others in the past but Edward was just so warm and sweet and even though he had clear muscles, he still felt soft somehow.

We chatted every now and then through the drive to the pier and I found his laugh enthralling. It was smooth and warm and _natural_. His laugh was completely organic.

The valet took his car and Edward tipped him well, or I assumed so because I didn't see the amount but I _did_ see the valet's eyes widen as he saw it.

I walked up the steps first, Edward trailing behind me. I had never been to this restaurant before, it was fancy for sure; Urban with it's willingness to mix colors uncommonly seen together, the furnishings were dark wood and modernly and there were candles everywhere. The ocean glimmered from the open plan windowed wall on the opposite side to the opening.

I could see why Edward liked it.

We were shown to our seats and Edward helped me out of my coat and into my chair, not even attempting to hide himself from checking me out. He just smiled his smile once again and sat down across from me.

I was enjoying his confidence thus far, it wasn't the typical arrogant confidence some men exuded.

We had been fairly silent up until this point, I decided to be the one to break it.

"So, you come here often?" I realized a moment too late what that sounded like. Edward looked at me pointedly, with an eyebrow raised and a playful smirk on his beautiful mouth. I just shrugged at him, no use taking it back.

Before he had a chance to answer, someone walked up to the table. "Hello, I'm Eric. I'll be your waiter this evening."

We both ordered our drinks; a gin and tonic for him, white wine for me.

The waiter left to get our requests and I looked straight on at my date, waiting. He knew what I was wanting. "When my parents are in the city." He answered. "My father loves the seafood and my mother loves the decor." He grinned at the thought of his parents.

"You have great parents." I smiled. They were easily the most hospitable people I had ever known and we had only ever met twice.

"I do." He agreed. "And you?"

Crap, I knew this was coming. "My father is wonderful." I started.

"And your mother?" His brow furrowed as he asked this.

Where to go with this...She was very sweet, but a child. Irresponsible but I never wanted for anything. She went through man after man, but never introduced them to me...

I decided to be honest, sparing the carnage. "My mother is...Bat-crap crazy, _but_ a total sweetheart." I huffed out a laugh awkwardly.

I think he sensed my awkwardness and moved onto another topic. "So, what made want to open a cafe?"

Another question hard to answer. I didn't want to give him all the details, no need to scare him off by talking about breaking my ex boyfriends heart and leaving the state to get away from it all.

I took a breath in to begin, but Eric came with our drinks and the menu. The story could be put off for a little while at least.

Edward ordered an entree of shrimp in a spicy sauce and I got the red bell pepper stuffed with quinoa. We decided on the same main under Eric's recommendations; Steak in a red wine and mixed herb sauce.

It was Edward's turn to look at me expectantly. I took another deep breath in. "What was your question?" I decided to stall a little.

"What made you want to open your cafe?" He asked again, sweetly.

"Well." I started. "I had just moved to Seattle and needed a job, I saw the cafe was for sale and-with some encouragement-Jumped at the chance."

He looked at me, his eyes soft but thoughtful. "What...Was there any reason you wanted to leave New York?"

This man was good, too good. He knew exactly what to ask, even when I didn't know what to say. I contemplated what to say for a moment, biting my lip and casting my eyes downward. He was patient, From my peripheral I saw that his gaze was still fixed on mine.

I stared up at Edward through my eyelashes. I decided to keep it simple. "There was nothing for me there anymore...I wasn't _happy_ anymore."

Edward seemed pleased with the honest response and took a mouthful of his gin. The evening continued, he was truly a wonderful man and he spoke so passionately about his work. I learned tonight that he was witty, sharp, had a dry sense of humor and had excellent table manners. He also knew the mechanics of a conversation and it had me considering jumping over the table and having my nasty, wicked way with him.

We got increasingly more flirtatious at the night went on, we started out on either side of each other, but he somehow managed to move himself and his meal to the side on my right.

Our faces drew closer and closer to each other and we continued our playful verbal flirtation in hushed whispers, as if we were in on some intimate secret together. I had my hand on his knee and he would move a tendril of hair out of my eyes, feeling it's silkiness as he pulled away.

He was intoxicating and it wasn't due to the alcohol, Edward stopped drinking after the first as he was driving and out of politeness I did too. I also didn't want to get sloppy around him if he was staying sober.

The banter continued, his repartee was astute but smooth. I gave it back equally, throwing in a light coquettish giggle or a sneaky jab where fitted. We fit well together and I could see this being a normal thing for us if we had a future.

Presently, our legs were all but intertwined, dinner was finished and forgotten and we were casually asking each other _this or that_ questions.

"Cats or dogs?" He asked.

"Dogs, definitely." I stated. "But I've never had one, my mom was allergic."

He pouted, giving me mock sadness in his eyes as he rubbed his left hand up and down my arm.

"My turn." I smirked. "Republican or Democrat?" I held up my left hand, pausing his answer temporarily. "And just note, that this answer will define whether or not we continue to see each other." I was only half joking at this, I was raised a democrat and believed in equal rights for all.

"I'm a democrat." He smiled. He wasn't worried. I returned his smile playfully, happy with his answer.

Soon after, we left with me tucked under his arm. The ride back to my place was much more animated, we were no longer near strangers anymore and knew enough about each other to approach conversation topics without worry.

This was easily the best date I had ever had. Boyfriends in the past had either dominated the full conversation section or were like dead fish. Jacob would take me to only the finest of establishments, then would criticize the decor or the waiter's manners or the way the plate was dressed.

Edward just enjoyed me being with him, I could see all the silly things I would say were entertaining to him. This was a little odd to me, a lot of people found my unusual view of the world strange, be he found it amusing. Earlier this evening he had said, _"You always zig when I think your going to zag, I love it."_

No one had ever been so breathlessly sweet to me before, I'm not sure he was even aware of it. It was just who he _was_ with me, and it was exciting.

He pulled up at the curve by my apartment building, I unbuckled my seatbelt but hesitated to open my door when I saw him shake his head. Edward jogged to my side and opened my door. "Milady." Gesturing with his hand for my to take. I did and got out as gracefully as I was capable of.

"Such service." I joked, playfully.

We walked up the steps in silence, his hand in mine still. The street had gone quiet which was usual for this part of the neighbourhood. And I felt _it_ again. The same supercharged feeling I did yesterday. I wasn't sure if it was because he was holding my hand or whether it was from all the flirting this evening, but I felt it stronger than ever. I hoped he did too.

"Would it be cliche for me to say I had a great time tonight?" Edward asked, standing two steps down from me, meeting my height.

I took his other hand and nodded. "Yes, as such a creative man it would be..._But_ if you mean it, I might give you a pass just this once." I breathed out, my eyes directly on his.

Edwards eyes turned playful, leaning in closer. "Oh, I mean it." His voice, as soft as mine now.

"Good." I stated simply. A smiled teasing him, my tongue sitting just between my teeth.

I couldn't help but move closer, the pull was getting stronger. I wanted...No, _needed_ to kiss him.

As if gravity shifted between us, his hand moved to my waist as I pulled my arms around his neck. "Just good?" He quired in a breathless whisper.

"I may need a little more convincing..." I trailed off, my voice full of suggestion.

No more words were needed as we pulled each other in at the same moment, my lips meeting their equals once again, the kiss was explorative and playful. We were learning more about each other.

His tongue decided to capture mine strongly, his teeth nipped and pulled at my lips and I was thankful for the spicy shrimp he had eaten earlier in the evening. His lips were plumper and the residual spice in his mouth only heightened the fervor between us.

We stumbled back until I hit the brick wall at the opening of the apartment building, well in theory. His arms were so securely wrapped around me that they took the brunt of it.

The kiss turn slower, but with greater purpose now. We knew enough about each other to know what the other liked. Edward hands started running up and down my hips and waist, as if he were trying in vain to feel the skin underneath. I was running my hands through his hair, pulling the ends just hard enough to hear the lascivious moan that I was growing to love.

I was suddenly thankful that Alice was spending the night at Jasper's, This man was not leaving before getting into my bed.

Moaning into the kiss, I ran my hands down from his hair to his neck. I pulled at his collar and started directing him towards the door, never breaking the kiss.

"Wait." He said, though barely heard through the kisses and heavy breathing between. "This is our first date."

I paused. "Yeah." I looked down. Were we taking this too fast? "I guess we can stop if you want..." Trying to catch my breath, I smiled awkwardly.

Edward shook his head. "Oh _believe_ me Bella, I don't want to stop." He smirk and continued. "But I don't want to have you think I'm taking advantage of the situation."

I nodded, barely hearing him. I was too busy staring at his lips. "So...You gotta go...?"

"Yeah." We paused for a moment.

Throwing caution to the wind, I grabbed his collar again and pulled him to me. "Fuck it." I said, just before he met my lips. He groaned into the kiss and grabbed my by the waist again, pulling me to his now obvious arousal.

I somehow managed to open the door that he all but picked me up to get us to the elevator. He trailed hot pecks down my neck as we went up to my floor, almost tumbling out as the elevator opened.

In a manner of genius once again I managed to open the door, pulling him in with me as I walked backward into the living room. He stopped and lifted me by the waist to the back of the couch. I practically ripped his buttons down as I took his shirt off, too preoccupied by his hands to care if they broke. He was caressing my breasts while licking his tongue lightly across my lips.

I began to kiss down his neck and onto his chest, loving the purr he gave as I did. He pulled his shirt off and we both started on my coat.

"When I said you looked lovely in this dress tonight Bella, I meant you looked so_ fucking_ sexy." The purr in his voice became a growl and I couldn't help but moan at it.

We began moving together and I squirmed in pleasure as his hand trailed higher and _higher _up my leg...

_Ring! Ring!_ The sound was deafeningly loud in the-other than our moans-quiet room.

We cursed together as his pant pocket lit up and buzzed. Edward's head fell to my shoulder as he reached for the phone. "Hello?" He asked, not bothering to be polite.

"What?" He shot up. "Is she okay?" I followed his lead. Was it Emmett?

The voice continued for a minute, and Edward's eyebrows creased together. "Yeah man, I'll be right there."

"Is everything okay?" It was a stupid question, but I wanted to help ease that worried face in some way.

"I'm not sure." He said. "Emmett didn't know but they're taking Rose in by ambulance. I've gotta go look after Nate until my parents get here."

"I'll come with you." I offered.

He shook his head. "You don't have to do that."

"I want to, Rosalie is my friend. I'd like to know that she's okay and Nate likes me."

He still looked unsure. "I don't want you to get too stressed." I rubbed his arm soothingly. It seemed to work a little as his shoulders left their tense position slightly.

"What will we tell my parents when they get here?"

"We'll figure it out." I smiled, though sadly.

We grabbed our coats again and ran out the door. I was too worried to be able to even consider what had almost happened between us only moments earlier.

Something was wrong with Rosalie and I was terrified for her.

* * *

_**Dun dun dun! I'm sorry this has taken so long to come about, with work and moving into my new condo...But enough about me :) I decided to give you guys a little treat to say sorry for my absence of late. Let me know what you think.**_


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